COVID-19 as Experienced in the Bronx Discussed at June and September's Coalition Meeting

"Community Conversations on COVID-19 as Experienced in the Bronx" was the theme of the June and September Bronx Health REACH Coalition meetings. 

On June 5th the topic of discussion at the Bronx Health REACH Coalition Meeting was, "Community Conversations on COVID-19 as experienced in the Bronx." The meeting featured Pastor John Udo-Okon, from Word of Life International, Bronx Health REACH Community Outreach Worker Cheikhou Ann Oumar, Gladys Roman from Manna of Life Ministries, Assistant Principal Nicole Smith from The Family School-PS 443, and Dr. Eric Gayle, Vice President, Medical Services at the Institute for Family Health.

Word of Life International runs a weekly food pantry serving hundreds of clients, and was forced to close after family and staff working at their food pantry became infected with COVID-19. They were able to re-open in May, but to better serve the influx of Bronx residents returning to the pantry, Pastor John spoke about the need for personal protection equipment (PPE) to protect the staff from getting sick again. "If our staff gets sick, we will have to close our doors again, forcing many Bronx residents to seek other places for food." Manna of Life Ministries also has a food pantry and soup kitchen that now has 300 people coming in daily for food. "We serve a large undocumented population and there is a need for more food to meet the demand," says Gladys Roman.

Bronx Health REACH Community Outreach Worker, Cheikhou Ann Oumar spoke on how the Muslim community are at a higher exposure to COVID-19 due to many performing essential jobs such as cab drivers. Cheikhou also mentioned other challenges COVID-19 has brought upon the community. "There have been many at-home deaths and families are unable to send their deceased family members home for burial," said Cheikhou.

“We are building the plane as we are flying it,” has been Family School-PS 443 Assistant Principal Nicole Smith's experience running a Bronx public school during COVID-19. She added, "There has been some push-back from educators about remote-learning, but the pandemic has also made us re-imagine how to best teach our students in a remote setting."

Dr. Eric Gayle, from the Institute for Family Health shared how there has been a lack of awareness surrounding telehealth and virtual visits with the IFH health centers. "Better messaging is needed. Even in the current healthcare crisis, physicians are still available to treat and serve patients."

Also speaking at the Coalition meeting were Maria Angela Soto and Jaime Gutierrez, from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Division of Disease Control. Maria provided stats on COVID-19 deaths and current cases in New York State and New York City, and steps to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. Jaime spoke about NYC's Contact Tracing initiative and tracking those diagnosed with COVID-19.

At the September 11th Coalition meeting the conversation continued around COVID-19. Joining the conversation were Dennis Derryck, CEO of the Corbin Hill Food Project, Anita Reyes from the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, Bronx Health REACH's Mike Johnson, Alison Hirsh from the New York City Department of Education, Principal Rowena Penn from PS443 and Parent Gloria Corsino from the Citywide Council on Special Education.   

Dennis Derryck spoke about COVID-19 through the lens of racial equity. Corbin Hill Food Project provides an opportunity for low income communities to purchase fresh, farm grown food while supporting farmers of color. "Out of the 57,000 farmers in New York state, 139 are Black farmers. Even though the food industry in NY State is a $42 billion industry, the net income for a white farmer is $42,000 and the net income for a black farmer is -$900. To change this we are asking people to make larger financial investments over longer periods of time to make our program sustainable."

Anita Reyes gave a presentation about the Test and Trace program and the importance of stopping the spread of COVID-19 by wearing a facemask, washing your hands, and getting a COVID-19 test. Mike Johnson spoke about Bronx Health REACH being one of 38 community-based organizations that have been selected to distribute signage and information about where people can go to get a COVID-19 test.

Alison Hirsh from the New York City Department of Education gave an update on what steps are being taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in schools for those students, teachers and staff returning to NYC public schools. "We have established a rapid response team comprised of members from the NYCDOHMH Test and Trace team and NYCDOE staff so that if any DOE staff or student tests positive, we have a communications plan and process to address it. If a person in a single class tests positive, then all others that were in that classroom will be quarantined for 14 days. If there is more than one case in a school, then that school will close for a minimum of 24 hours to determine if the spread happened in the school or elsewhere."

PS443 Principal Rowena Penn spoke about the many challenges COVID-19 has brought about for her school, especially for those students trying to access the internet for remote learning. "We have the highest number of shelter students in our school district. Even though many of my students have a laptop, there is no internet access in the shelters."

Parent Gloria Corsino from the Citywide Council on SpecialEducation recommended a 3 point plan for the NYC DOE to enact so students, teachers and school staff can safely return to the schools. "We want to make sure all school staff has personal protection equipment and classrooms have proper ventilation. I encourage all families to continue wearing masks and to get a COVID-19 test."

Morrisania WIC Celebrates National Breastfeeding Month 2020

 

"It was a wonderful event to participate in and celebrate our cultural roots and reclaim black breastfeeding as a community." - Charline and Sofia-Michele.

This article was written by Judy Fram, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).

The NYC Bronx Morrisania WIC Baby Café had a wonderful time celebrating National Breastfeeding Month in August. To raise awareness and galvanize action on themes related to breastfeeding, World Breastfeeding Week kicked off on July 31st with a virtual Global Big Latch event. Breastfeeding families and breastfeeding supporters joined via computer screen, as babies latched onto the breast, or were closely held, drinking the nutritious milk lovingly expressed for them. After the event, one mother emailed that the event was “awesome.” During our first August Baby Café session, we discussed a Kindred Bravely article called “Eight Ways to Celebrate World Breastfeeding Week” and the history of World Breastfeeding Week. Our second Baby Café session was sponsored by our partner, Bronx Health REACH. We reviewed the history of National Breastfeeding Month. All sessions took place in English and Spanish. 

Singing events were held the first and third Wednesdays in August. Attendees sang along to “Mi Familia,” in Spanish and sign language. Also shared were “Pata,” in Xhosa, a language spoken in South Africa, with clapping, and the old Sesame Street favorite, in English and Spanish, “Baa Baa Bamba.”  During the second week of August, breastfeeding families participated in virtual story reading with their baby that took place in 4 languages (Bambara, French, Spanish and English). Classics like We Like to Nurse, as well as newer texts such as C’est Pas Moi, a French book and Criados y Acariciados –a Spanish book, were read by various participants. A new favorite was Say Hello, which follows a little girl saying “hello” in ten different languages to her neighbors from many cultures. Many mothers attended every event of the month. One mother even brought her current favorite book, which she shared by reading to the group with her baby on her lap. 

The final week of August was Black Breastfeeding Week, which centers on the breastfeeding experiences and challenges unique to Black Breastfeeding families. It began nine years ago to highlight the experiences and challenges of Black breastfeeding mother-baby dyads including issues of bias and health inequities.

For our last Baby Café event of August we offered attendees the option to participate in our yearly African Breastfeeding Mothers’ Fashion show, as well as a new event, Show Your Beautiful Black or Brown Baby.  We shared a slide show based on Black International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant Kim Durdin’s 2019 article, “It’s Black Breastfeeding Week- Here’s Why It Matters.” We acknowledged the hard truths about these biases and inequities, and then moved into celebrating. We sang and clapped to Amawolé, a song from the Ivory Coast, and twirled for each other in African-inspired clothing. Nursing moms held their babies up to their computer screens to share their sweet gorgeousness. In a time of global pandemic, with growing visibility of the poison of systemic racism and health disparities, events like Black Breastfeeding Week seek to center those that are often on the margins, and provided an opportunity for all of us to share and really see each other, to celebrate, and lift each other up.

Over the course of that long and full month, we celebrated the ways that nourish brains and bodies. From breastmilk, to reading, singing, and moving. We were thrilled to have highlighted the importance of education, individual and especially the societal support, as coupled with the professional and cultural humility needed to help families meet their breastfeeding goals.

Active Transportation and Complete Streets Webinar Recap

This post was written by Kelly Moltzen, Program Manager for Bronx Health REACH’s Creating Healthy Schools and Communities.

On April 27th, Bronx Health REACH and Dan Suraci from Urban Cycling Solutions hosted a webinar about Active Transportation and Complete Streets and how Bronx stakeholders could get involved with advancing this work in the Bronx. Active Transportation is any self-propelled, human-powered mode of mobility, such as walking and bicycling. We reviewed the benefits of active transportation for increasing physical activity, thereby addressing one of the risk factors for obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Medical costs of obesity are high, at over $11.8 billion in New York State alone.  Pedestrian and bicycle fatalities have not changed much over the past decade, so there is therefore much room for improvement to make streets safer for all.

Smart Growth America defines Complete Streets as “[Streets] designed and operated to enable safe access for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities.”  Complete Streets balance health, economic vitality, equity, safety, environment, choice, mobility, and livability. They maximize efficiency and space, and encourage climate-friendly transportation options. When planning complete streets, people’s preferred routes are taken into consideration. Reduced traffic speeds save lives, and narrowed lanes help reduce speed of vehicles. Bike lanes and crosswalks with visible paint are safer than those where the paint is worn off; curb extensions and pedestrian islands allow pedestrians to cross streets that aren’t as wide; and ensuring bike parking is available encourages more riders to use their bikes.

Community members can conduct a walk audit of their neighborhood to identify areas of opportunity for Complete Street improvements. On the webinar, we took virtual walk audits to four dangerous intersections in the Bronx – Connor & Provost & Boston Road; 183rd & Grand Concourse; Westchester & Prospect Avenues; and 138th Street and Alexander Avenue. Dan walked us through safety features already existing on some of these streets and areas of opportunity for improvement.

Communities can work with their local municipalities to pass Complete Streets policies, which represent an official mandate to work toward an integrated transportation network for all users, as well the establishment of a reporting framework.  NYC has a “Vision Zero” policy which guides Complete Streets work through the NYC Department of Transportation, however, communities can work with their local Community Boards to advocate for additional changes, or to pressure the city to push a Complete Streets project higher up on the priority list. Some examples of policies that can be implemented in NYC include School Zones and NYC Neighborhood Slow Zones. Successful Complete Streets advisory groups consist of diverse stakeholders as well as a Chamber of Commerce or Business Association, Department of Public Works or Transportation, and the local transit agency. Studies show that more walkable and bikeable communities increase commercial activity and business satisfaction, so it can be especially valuable to get the local business community on board with the proposed changes.

If planned properly, complete street improvements can be no/low cost, and folded into other projects  or utility projects. Measurements to evaluate success can include number of crashes, volume of vehicles, traffic speed, economic vitality, user satisfaction, environmental outcomes, public health outcomes, and public safety. This training was supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH).

DATA2GO.NYC – Providing Insight on the Health of Bronx Residents

  Figure 1
 Note: Sample table showing human developmental index (HDI) scores (0-10) for Community Districts 1 (D1) through 12 (D12) in the Bronx, NY. From DATA2GO.NYC by the Social Science Research Council. Retrieved May 4, 2020 from https://www.data2go.nyc.

This post was written by Mickelder Kercy, Evaluation Assistant for Bronx Health REACH.

DATA2GO.NYC is an online tool integrating federal, state, city and non-profit agencies data from 2000 to 2017. Data are available at the community districts and census tracts levels. Using the “Maps” button on the top left corner, a geomap can be generated to visualize on a map the percentages of Bronx residents with specific health indicators or characteristics (e.g., demographics and educational level), behaviors (e.g., fruits and vegetable consumption and exercise), outcomes (e.g., obesity and diabetes) and related mortality rates (e.g., diabetes deaths and heart disease deaths) for each county district. Data are also provided on additional determinants of health such as the environment and food system.

Data reported on DATA2GO.NYC reveals that Bronx residents have major challenges in living healthy, productive and long lives. The American Human Development Index (HDI), a scale of 0 to 10 combining three indicators (educational level, income level and life expectancy), ranges from 2.98 to 6.26 across all 12 Bronx community districts. Currently, Bronx Community Districts 1 through 7 have the lowest human developmental index scores (Figure 1 above) among all 12 Bronx community districts (Figure 2 below) and 59 New York City Community Districts. Comparatively, the NYC Community District with the highest Human Developmental Index score, is  District 7 in Manhattan with 9.29.

Figure 2
Note: Map of Bronx community districts. From NYCdata: Population & Geography by Baruch College Zicklin Schoool of Business. Retrieved May 4, 2020 from https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/nycdata/population-geography/maps-boroughdistricts.htm.

Based on DATA2GO.NYC, the number of bodegas per one supermarket ranges from 7 to 37 across all 12 Bronx Community Districts. The district with the lowest ratio of bodegas to supermarket (7:1) is Bronx Community District 10. The district with the highest ratio of bodegas to supermarket (37:1) is Bronx Community District 6.

The percentage of Bronx residents who are food insecure (i.e., cannot consistently access adequate, affordable, minimally processed and nutrient-rich fresh foods) is above the national household average (11.1%). Food insecurity level varies from 11.90% to 23.70% across all 12 Bronx Community Districts.

Other statistics include:

• The percentage of adults drinking one or more sugary drinks daily ranges from 20% to 39% across all 12 Bronx Community Districts. Bronx Community District 9 (39%) ranks highest among all 59 NYC Community Districts.

• The percentage of adults who reported not having consumed any fruits or vegetables ranges from 12% to 22% across all 12 Bronx Community Districts with Community Districts 5 (22%), 6 (19%) and 3 (19%) ranking in the top 10.

These data continue to underscore the need for Bronx Health REACH’s continued partnership with Bronx bodegas and Corbin Hill Food Project to provide more healthy food options to Bronx residents on a regular basis.

According to DATA2GO.NYC, the percentage of public parks, open space and recreational areas available for use ranges from 0.80% to 33.80% across all 12 Bronx Community Districts. Bronx Community District 6 (33.80%) is the only district in the Bronx ranking among the top 10 highest-ranking NYC community districts that have large public parks, open space and recreational areas for physical activity. As recommended by the National Parks and Recreation Association, cities should allocate a sizeable portion of their land to public parks, open spaces and recreational areas equivalent to 10 acres of land for every 1,000 individuals. The consensus among researchers is that, in addition to the existence of supervised activities, the greater the percentage of public parks, open spaces and recreational lands available to community members within one and two miles of their residential spaces, the more likely community members will engage in physical activities. In the Bronx, there seems to be an association between land use availability for recreational and physical activity and level of physical activity among residents. Throughout all Bronx Community Districts, lack of exercise is one of the most frequent unhealthy behaviors and obesity is the most prevailing health outcome among adults.

• The percentage of adults who reported not having exercised in the past 30 days ranges from 25% to 35% across all 12 Bronx Community Districts. Bronx Community Districts 1 (35%), 2 (35%) and 4 (35%) rank among the top 10 highest-ranking NYC community districts for this behavioral indicator.


• The prevalence of obesity ranges from 24% to 42% across all 12 Bronx Community Districts. Bronx Community Districts 1 (42%) and 2 (42%) rank highest among all 59 NYC Community Districts for this health outcome.

Compounding the lack of physical activity among one third of Bronx residents and access to healthy foods in a county that has one of the largest produce markets in the world, Hunts Point Produce Market, Bronx residents were also dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic limiting free movements of residents within and outside the Bronx and their ability to stay healthy. These data paint a somber picture of the Bronx that reveals the borough has been suffering a public health crisis for a long period of time, even before the data provided by the Robert Wood Johnson County Health Rankings & Roadmaps report, where the Bronx has been persistently ranked the unhealthiest county, 62 out of the 62 New York City counties in the 11 years of the report.

The Bronx Health REACH Coalition founding since 1999 and its collaborations over the years with federal and state agencies, community leaders, faith-based organizations, other organizations and residents has had as its singular focus on the elimination of these health disparities and inequities. It is imperative that all stakeholders mobilize all available resources to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in this vulnerable county and continue to strengthen the socio – political and economic environment and infrastructures that will increase access to, and utilization of, goods and services promoting healthy behaviors and outcomes among all Bronx residents.