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Study finds hospitals don’t always have an open door policy, particularly when it comes to race
New data has exposed a concerning trend in American healthcare: a stark racial divide in patient populations. Contrary to claims of open access for all, dozens of hospitals exhibit significant racial exclusivity, a report from the independent healthcare think tank Lown Institute has shown.
The study identifies two Midwest hospitals and one in the South as the most segregated in the nation. According to federal patient data, the segregation has resulted in a nine-year gap in life expectancy between white and Black residents in a single county.
St. Louis, Detroit, and New Orleans residents, particularly those of Black ethnicity, find themselves grappling with pronounced racial disparities in their local hospitals. Among these cities, New Orleans emerged as the most affected, boasting the highest percentage of hospitals offering de facto segregated healthcare. Of its 14 hospitals, five exhibit the least inclusivity regarding racially diverse patient populations.
Conversely, individuals living near specific hospitals in Chicago, Newark, or Boston are positioned closer to more inclusive healthcare environments, offering a glimmer of hope for improved equity in medical services.
Founded in 1973 by Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Bernard Lown, who developed the defibrillator and cardioverter, the Lown Institute seeks to better the hospital system for all.
Its comprehensive report highlights the cities with the highest degrees of racial segregation in their hospitals and provides insights into the institutions leading the way in inclusivity.
“It’s refreshing to see that some hospitals make caring for those most in need their top priority,” Vikas Saini, MD, president of the Lown Institute, said in a news release. “Inclusive hospitals show that it’s possible to serve everyone, even when it may be against their financial interest.”
The Lown Institute lists the following hospitals are the most racially inclusive in America:
1- Boston Medical Center (Boston, MA)
2- John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital (Chicago, IL)
3- UChicago Medicine (Chicago, IL)
4- Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (Philadelphia, PA)
5- Metro Nashville General Hospital (Nashville, TN)
6- South Coast Global Medical Center (Santa Ana, CA)
7- St. Charles Madras (Madras, OR)
8- Grady Memorial Hospital (Atlanta, GA)
9- Methodist Hospitals (Gary, IN)
10- Emory University Hospital Midtown (Atlanta, GA)
The Institute also found that many of the most and least racially inclusive hospitals are in the same U.S. cities, reflecting segregated healthcare markets. Of the 11 metro areas identified by the Lown Institute with significant market segregation, New Orleans stands out at the top of the list, with seven of its 14 hospitals (50%) ranking among the most or least inclusive.
The U.S. cities with the most segregated hospital markets are:
1- New Orleans, LA
2- St. Louis, MO
3- Detroit, MI
4- Milwaukee, WI
5- Philadelphia, PA
6- Kansas City, MO
7- Chicago, IL
8- Denver, CO
9- Phoenix, AZ
10- Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
11- Atlanta, GA
The most segregated hospital markets were determined by examining the proportion of hospitals within a metropolitan statistical area receiving either 1 star (lowest score) or 5 stars (highest score) on Lown’s racial inclusivity ranking. All cities included on the list had more than 20% of hospitals at those extremes.
“Hospitals will say their doors are open to everyone and that they don’t turn anyone away, but that can be misleading,” Saini remarked. “If hospitals really want to undo structural racism’s hold on their communities, they can’t be bystanders. They need to act more systematically and with more intention.”
Click here to view the full report.
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Borrowers are reassessing their budgets as student loan payments resume after pandemic pause
NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of Americans must start repaying their federal student loans again in October, with monthly payments averaging hundreds of dollars a month. To get ready, borrowers are cutting expenses, taking on additional work, and looking for options to reduce their monthly payments.
Megan McClelland, 38, said she has started asking for October shifts with a catering company and a winery to help supplement her income.
McClelland’s main job is as a counselor at Petaluma High School in California. During the more than three years payments were suspended because of the pandemic, she paid off her car loan and was able to save for the first time. She’ll put the $235 she was spending on her car payment toward her student loan, but that still leaves another $270 or so she’ll have to reallocate or earn.
“It had been a huge relief the past few years to not have that financial burden,” she said. “In the next months, I’m looking to see where I can scale back in my budget. Probably less going out to eat, and more picking up side gigs.”
Justin Cole, 35, of Little Rock, Arkansas, said he doesn’t know how he’s going to come up with the $166 a month he’ll owe starting in October. That’s the estimated payment on his roughly $19,000 of loans from paying for college more than 10 years ago.
“I’m already in a mountain of debt, and while I just got a raise at work, it doesn’t go into effect until we’re full staffed at my family practice clinic,” he said.
Cole works the front office at a medical practice, checking in patients, handling records and managing payment collection. Some of his other debt comes from medical expenses after a car accident early in the pandemic.
“If those loans were forgiven, I could finally work on getting my credit up and actually saving money for once,” he said. “If they were forgiven out of the blue, I’d be ecstatic.”
The Supreme Court in July rejected a plan by President Joe Biden’s administration to wipe away $400 billion in student loan debt.
For now, Cole has applied for adjustments to his payments based on both the new SAVE plan and prior income-driven repayment options, which are listed as processing and “in review” on his account. The SAVE, or “Saving on a Valuable Education,” plan allows borrowers to make lower payments based on a percentage of their discretionary income.
His major household expenses are “rent, car payments, groceries, and utilities — the same as everybody else,” he said.
Not yet clear is how millions of people suddenly having less discretionary income might affect the economy.
On an earnings call last month, the chief financial officer of Target said that student loan payments restarting will “put additional pressure on the already-strained budgets of tens of millions of households,” a sentiment echoed by the financial chiefs of Best Buy and other retailers.
In the Federal Reserve’s latest survey of economic conditions, one restaurant-industry observer in Boston said workers are taking on more hours, and, for the first time, credit card debt has topped $1 trillion. According to credit bureau TransUnion, more than half of student loan holders added credit card debt during the pandemic. Meanwhile, consumer savings, which peaked in 2021, are on the decline.
McClelland qualifies for Public Service Loan Forgiveness as a public school teacher who will have worked in the field for 10 years next March. She’s putting her loans in order to hopefully receive that cancellation next year. The program erases remaining debts for federal student loan holders who work in public service while making 10 years of payments.
“I only have six payments to go, but it’s still stressful,” she said. “I have to find about $500 a month starting next month towards this payment that I haven’t had in so long.”
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is one of several avenues for relief still available to many with student debt. After Biden’s original plan for forgiveness was struck down by the Supreme Court in July, the White House has said it will use the Higher Education Act to bring cancellation to more borrowers. It’s currently undergoing a process known as “negotiated rule-making” to determine the details of that plan.
Other sources for relief for borrowers include: false certification, borrower defense, closed school, total/permanent disability discharges, and alternate repayment programs like income-driven repayment.
McClelland, for her part, said she now spends a lot of time counseling high school students on how to avoid taking on burdensome loans.
“I had no financial guidance when I was younger, from my own parents or from school,” she said. “I didn’t ever understand the long term impact.”
Despite working while in school and since — moonlighting at Starbucks, wineries and restaurants as well as counseling — McClelland still has a balance of about $38,000 in debt, from original loans of $10,000 towards her undergraduate studies and $40,000 for her masters in counseling at Sonoma State.
“I knew I wanted to go to college, and my parents didn’t have any money,” McClelland said. “I tell kids all the time, openly, ‘As someone who was once in your shoes, I highly recommend finding a way to avoid taking out loans.’ When you’re 17 or 18 years old, you think, ‘Oh, sure, I’ll figure this out.’ Then it’s frustrating to still be in this financial situation.”
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The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.
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This Pumpkin Extravaganza Filled With Thousands Of Hand-Carved Pumpkins Just Opened In NY
Pumpkin World: Where Jack O’Lanterns Glow has officially opened in the Greater New York Area, offering up all sorts of seasonal fun. Prepare to meander through a glowing trail filled with thousands of hand-carved pumpkins before entering a stunning Pumpkin Village filled with Halloween festivities for all ages to enjoy. The experience is now open at Clover Stadium, so grab your tickets here for an enchanting adventure!
The whole family is bound to be captivated by the countless themed carvings depicting mythical realms, Halloween icons, superheroes, princesses and so much more. Each creation within Pumpkin World has been meticulously carved by skilled artisans, making the spectacle even more jaw-dropping!
Once inside the Pumpkin Village, you’ll be able to enjoy a pumpkin patch, hay bale maze, seasonal food and drinks, an augmented reality scavenger hunt, and live pumpkin carving demonstrations – the list goes on! The experience even includes character greetings and an interactive performance with music, dancing and prizes.
This memorable fall experience is now open at 1 Phil Tisi Way in Pomona, New York, less than an hour drive from NYC. All ages are encouraged to join in on the fun, and tickets start at $22.
Pumpkin World: Where Jack O’Lanterns Glow
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New York stunned and swamped by record-breaking rainfall as more downpours are expected
GO TO AMSTERDAMNEWS.COM/WEATHER FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION
NEW YORK (AP) — One of New York’s wettest days in decades left the metropolitan area stunned and swamped Friday after heavy rainfall knocked out several subway and commuter rail lines, stranded drivers on highways, flooded basements and shuttered a terminal at LaGuardia Airport for hours.
Some 8.65 inches (21.97 centimeters) of rain had fallen at John F. Kennedy Airport by nightfall Friday, surpassing the record for any September day set during Hurricane Donna in 1960, the National Weather Service said.
Parts of Brooklyn saw more than 7.25 inches (18.41 centimeters), with at least one spot recording 2.5 inches (6 centimeters) in a single hour, according to weather and city officials.
More downpours were expected Saturday.
The deluge came two years after the remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped record-breaking rain on the Northeast and killed at least 13 people in New York City, mostly in flooded basement apartments. Although no deaths or severe injuries have been reported, Friday’s storm stirred frightening memories.
Ida killed three of Joy Wong’s neighbors, including a toddler. And on Friday, water began lapping against the front door of her building in Woodside, Queens.
“I was so worried,” she said, explaining it became too dangerous to leave. “Outside was like a lake, like an ocean.”
Within minutes, water filled the building’s basement nearly to the ceiling. After the family’s deaths in 2021, the basement was turned into a recreation room. It is now destroyed.
City officials said they received reports of six flooded basement apartments Friday, but all occupants got out safely.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams declared states of emergency and urged people to stay put if possible. But schools were open, students went to class and many adults went to work, only to wonder how they would get home.
Virtually every subway line was at least partly suspended, rerouted or running with delays. Metro-North commuter rail service from Manhattan was suspended for much of the day but began resuming by evening. The Long Island Rail Road was snarled, 44 of the city’s 3,500 buses became stranded and bus service was disrupted citywide, transit officials said.
“When it stops the buses, you know it’s bad,” Brooklyn high school student Malachi Clark said after trying to get home by bus, then subway. School buses were running, but they transport only a fraction of public school students, many of them disabled.
A long line of people snaked from the ticket counter in the afternoon at Grand Central Terminal, where Mike Tags was among those whose trains had been canceled. Railroad employees had suggested possible workarounds, but he wondered whether they would work out.
“So I’m going to sit here, ride it out, until they open up,” he said.
Traffic hit a standstill earlier in the day on a stretch of the FDR Drive, a major artery along Manhattan’s east side. With water above car tires, some drivers abandoned their vehicles.
Around 11 a.m., Priscilla Fontallio said she had spent three hours in her car, which was on a piece of the highway that wasn’t flooded but wasn’t moving.
“Never seen anything like this in my life,” she said.
On a street in Brooklyn’s South Williamsburg neighborhood, workers were up to their knees in water as they tried to unclog a storm drain while cardboard and other debris floated by. Some people arranged milk crates and wooden boards to cross flooded sidewalks.
Flights into LaGuardia were briefly halted in the morning, and then delayed, because of water in the refueling area. Flooding also forced the closure of one of the airport’s three terminals for several hours. Terminal A resumed normal operations around 8 p.m.
A Brooklyn school was evacuated because its boiler was smoking, possibly because water got into it, Schools Chancellor David Banks said. Another Brooklyn school was mopping up ground-floor classrooms, City Councilwoman Crystal Hudson said in an email seeking volunteers to help.
The New York Rangers and New York Islanders postponed a preseason hockey game on Long Island. And at the waterlogged Central Park Zoo, a sea lion swam out of her swollen pool. With the zoo closed because of the weather, she looked around for a bit before returning to the pool, zoo officials said in a statement.
In Brooklyn’s Crown Heights, Jessie Lawrence awoke to the sound of rain dripping from the ceiling of her fourth-floor apartment and heard strange sounds outside her front door.
She opened the door to find “the water was coming in thicker and louder,” pouring into the hallway and flowing down the stairs, she said. Rain had pooled on the roof and was leaking through a skylight.
Hoboken, New Jersey, and other cities and towns near New York City also experienced flooding. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy called for state offices to close at 3 p.m., except for essential personnel.
Why so much rain? The remnants of Tropical Storm Ophelia over the Atlantic Ocean combined with a mid-latitude system arriving from the west, at a time of year when conditions coming off the ocean are particularly juicy for storms, National Weather Service meteorologist Ross Dickman said. This combination storm parked itself over New York for 12 hours.
The weather service had warned of 3 to 5 inches (7.5 to 13 centimeters) of rain and told emergency managers to expect more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) in some places, Dickman said.
The deluge came less than three months after a storm caused deadly floods in New York’s Hudson Valley and swamped Vermont’s capital, Montpelier.
As the planet warms, storms are forming in a hotter atmosphere that can hold more moisture, making extreme rainfall more frequent, according to atmospheric scientists.
In the case of Friday’s storm, nearby ocean temperatures were below normal and air temperatures weren’t too hot. Still, it became the third time in two years that rain fell at rates near 2 inches (5 centimeters) per hour in Central Park, which is unusual, Columbia University climate scientist Adam Sobel said.
The park recorded 5.8 inches (14.73 centimeters) of rain by nightfall Friday.
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Associated Press journalists Deepti Hajela, Joe Frederick and Karen Matthews in New York, Anthony Izaguirre in Albany and Seth Borenstein in Washington contributed.
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For more AP coverage of climate change: https://apnews.com/climate-and-environment
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