Health Matters
Okay, we may not have that dazzling, high-altitude Rocky Mountain air; we may not be as “organic” as West Coasters; and most of our day jobs are nowhere near as manual-labor-intensive as some in the Corn Belt, but that doesn’t mean our lifestyles aren’t perfectly healthy as is. Well, they could be if we wanted them to be, anyway. Among the bounty of physical wellness resources at our disposal—not including the various health clubs, fitness centers, and activity-ready public spaces that crowd our region—are:
Our pick of hospitals
Nineteen of them! That’s a big number. There are just 185 in all of New York State, and 4,985 in the US. By the way, that’s more hospitals than in the entire states of Delaware, Vermont, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia.
A selection of nutritious foods (and vendors that supply them)
Of the nearly 500 sprawling square miles that make up our county, one lone geographic area is recognized by the USDA as a “food desert,” a place in which residents (some of which must be low-income) “lack access to affordable fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lowfat milk, and other foods that make up the full range of a healthy diet.” The patch of No Man’s Land between the Saw Mill, Grasslands Road, and Bradhurst Avenue is home to New York Medical College…and not much else.
The USDA found in 2009 that there are 418 rural food desert counties across the country, where all residents live more than 10 miles from a supermarket. More than 23 million Americans lack access to a supermarket within a mile of their home.
Viable health insurance coverage
In 2011, 89 percent of us had health insurance, versus 84 percent nationally.
