Hi,

Not sure if this is the right place, but I'm trying to get the word out about a new resource I am rolling out. I think it's a pretty innovative combination of technology, research, and advocacy:

www.healthcarethatworks.org

The site is a Google Map mash-up that takes data on NYC hospital closures between 1985 and 2005, and overlays it on an interactive city-wide map that can display either the racial or economic demographics of the Five Boroughs. Using this tool, visitors can visually see how hospital closures disproportionately impact poor neighborhoods and communities of color. Text on the sidebar guides the user through each decade and demographic overlay, explaining the changing conditions of the city and the impact that closures have on underserved communities.

But the site is more than just a visual resource, it is also a data-rich resource for researchers that contains a variety of reports and fact sheets (as well as data on the patient demographics, payer source, and quality scores for each hospital), a community forum for health care advocates and New Yorkers, and an activism tool that encourages New Yorkers to write to their elected officials in support of creating a health care system that works equally for all.

Hope you guys can let folks know about what we're doing, and I'd be happy to discuss the project with one of your staff.

Mike Connery
Web Editor
The Opportunity Agenda
www.opportunityagenda.org
www.healthcarethatworks.org
mconnery@opportunityagenda.org
mike.connery@gmail.com
212-334-5634