Living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can feel like a constant struggle – a life that may be disrupted by debilitating flare-ups and fear of hospitalization. 

Impacting more than 14 million adults, COPD is a progressive disease that damages the lungs and airways making it difficult to breathe. And sadly, it’s a leading cause of death in the U.S.

Here’s the frustrating truth: even with daily maintenance inhalers, nearly half of patients still have dangerous symptom flare-ups, also known as exacerbations. These flare-ups aren’t just inconvenient, they can lead to more frequent and severe flare-ups, and a high risk of hospital admission. Just one flare-up increases the likelihood of recurrent flare-ups and related hospital admissions. Why are these flare-ups so persistent?

Evolving science has shown a critical piece of the puzzle: eosinophilic inflammation. This type of inflammation (swelling) in the lungs can be a driver of COPD symptoms, especially for those who experience frequent flare-ups.

What to know: Including a blood eosinophil test in routine screenings, combined with a doctor’s evaluation and diagnostic tools, can help identify if eosinophilic inflammation is making COPD worse. By understanding an underlying cause of flare-ups, a doctor can develop a targeted treatment plan to manage COPD and potentially reduce the frequency of exacerbations.

Alexis Smith, DO, Pulmonary Disease will discuss the challenges facing those living with COPD to help manage COPD and try to break the cycle of flare-ups.

Interview courtesy: GSK

#COPD #chronicobstructivepulmonarydisease #AlexSmith #GSK

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A mental health crisis is playing out on the streets of New York City.

Decades of disinvestment and stigmatization have left our city’s behavioral health system with insufficient resources and inadequate capacity at almost every level.

The result: We are failing New Yorkers with serious mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, leading to a vicious cycle that impacts not only people struggling with mental illness but also their loved ones, neighbors, and community.

Here is how the cycle plays out. People with untreated psychiatric conditions that require being admitted for in-patient care are unable to get access to a bed because Manhattan has lost a significant number of in-patient psychiatric beds.

Instead, they return to the streets when discharged prematurely.

Those who are lucky enough to get a bed and are successfully stabilized need ongoing treatment through community-based outpatient services, peer-support programs, and long-term supportive housing when they leave the hospital.

But here again, patients often run into a lack of capacity and, without care, become seriously vulnerable to falling through the cracks of our healthcare system and are likely to land back on the streets and subways.

Once out of care and facing instability, this disastrous mental health cycle plays itself out over and over again.

To help better support these New Yorkers, my office is releasing “Breaking the Cycle,” a policy initiative outlining several key recommendations to tackle the leading causes of this crisis. These include:

Adding 600+ long-term psychiatric beds
Addressing shortages of clinical staff in behavioral health
Speeding up the development of supportive housing
Expanding community-based and peer-led programs
Doubling mental health teams for street outreach
Implementing these initiatives will not be easy. Some will require significant investment and political capital.

But we cannot be deterred. No matter the price, our city has a moral obligation to build a system that better serves New Yorkers with serious mental illness.

The urgency of this issue demands immediate and decisive action. We must transform our city into a place where everyone, regardless of their mental health, has access to the necessary support and resources to live with dignity and hope.

NYC Must Lead Boldly on AI

Manhattan knows we need more housing…way more housing. With the average rent topping $5,000 a month, it’s no wonder everyday New Yorkers are demanding solutions, and fast!

We’re looking at it from all angles – identifying 171 sites borough-wide where new housing is possible, approving housing projects in the pipeline more quickly than ever, and keeping up the drumbeat for supporting new construction.

Last week, Politico profiled the BP’s efforts to make way for more housing in the borough and the overwhelmingly positive response from Manhattanites.

If you would like to read more, check out our last newsletter, in which the BP put our commitment to tackling the housing crisis front and center. Want to see more housing built? Sign our petition here.

Do you enjoy helping your community? Do you have some extra time?

Year round, the Manhattan Volunteer Corps helps out with community clean-ups, clothing drives, boroughwide events, and more. It’s a great way to give back to your fellow New Yorkers and get to know your neighbors across Manhattan.

No matter what you’re interested in or what your skills are, we’ve got a spot for you on Team Levine. We’ve got a packed schedule for 2024, so sign up now to join the Manhattan Volunteer Corps!

Featured: BP’s Manhattan Composting Initiative

NYC Public Schools kindergarten applications are open now through January 19, 2024. Kindergarten offers will be available to families on March 27. Apply and learn more about kindergarten admission here.

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What a Year of the Rooster Is
Every 12 years there is a Rooster year, beginning at Chinese New Year. A year of the Rooster always comes after a Monkey year and before a Dog year.

Years of the Rooster include 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, and 2029.

2017 Is a Fire Rooster Year — What ”Fire Rooster Year” Means
In Chinese astrology, each zodiac year is not just associated with an animal sign, but also one of five elements: Gold (Metal), Wood, Water, Fire, or Earth.

rooster
Both the zodiac sign and the element shape the astrology of the year. For example, 2017 is a Fire Rooster year. Element-sign combinations recur every 60 years.

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“This new direction promises to make WHDC a model organization,” said Kofi A. Boateng, WHDC Executive Director. “By investing for impact, we will be able to make measurable and significant contributions to the lives of the people of West Harlem.”

WHDC is building on the successes of its 2013 grant cycles and addressing the challenges that arose. The first grant cycle in 2013 impacted 300 more people than projected for a total of 12,910. Grant recipients leveraged their awards into $4.4 million in additional funding. The 2013 Cycle 1 grant total was $2 million.

One of the successes of note was a group of CD9 youth who earned honorable mention in the White House’s first student film awards with their oral history project on West Harlem. Another, a literacy program, bucked the trend and had 75 percent of its third grade students pass ELA testing under the Common Core compared to a 20 percent passing rate for minorities in the community.

Other highlights include:

• 243 jobs created so far
• 536 children taking part in educational programming
• 155 residents at risk of losing their home educated on their rights or saved from eviction
• 10,298 residents either educated in the arts or able to see a high-quality performance.

In 2014, WHDC’s funding priorities will shift dollars towards areas of priorities, and to good performers that will help the organization to solve the community’s problems. The priority areas will include education, workforce development, housing and health but while respecting the eight areas of need—which also include arts and culture, historical preservation, transportation and the environment—outlined in Community Benefits Agreement.

WHDC will use these priority areas as guides in its investing for impact while requiring measurable data that show who in Community District 9 is impacted and how. This move allows the organization to apply for big money from the government and foundations that require such measurable proof of impact in the community.

“When WHDC applies for funds, it must demonstrate measurable results. We shall demand no less from our grantees,” said Donald C. Notice, WHDC Board Chair. “This is the only way to tell a collective story of impact.”

Important dates of the next grant cycle include:

• Tuesday, April 2: Pre-grant application released
• Friday, April 18: Pre-grant application deadline
• Mid May: Grant application invitations to selected organizations
• Monday, June 9: Grant application deadline
• Late July: Grant awards announced

http://www.westharlemdc.org/whdc/news/whdc-news/whdc-to-hold-pre-grant-meeting-on-march-25/

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