Health equity and social justice: Lessons learned from hurricane sandy

As a result of global climate change, we are experiencing more natural disasters every year and this increase has created major public health concerns. Most recently, Super-storm Sandy wreaked havoc on the northeastern United States and caused approximately $62 billion in damage and other losses for New York and New Jersey. The hardest hit areas (the Jersey Shore and Hoboken in NJ and Coney Island and Red Hook in NY) changed the lives of thousands of men, women and children. While some neighborhoods are able to rebound relatively quickly after a natural disaster, our most vulnerable citizens struggle to meet basic needs. In particular, low-income minorities, children and the elderly are struggling to recover and return to a sense of normalcy. These vulnerable populations, who were already overburdened with a disproportionate share of health disparities, inadequate access to care, lack of access to nutritious foods and toxic pollutants have experienced a major setbacks as a result of this natural disaster. With the prospect of more Sandy-like storms in the future, we must learn from this experience and take affirmative steps to protect these communities. This presentation will discuss national strategies, e.g. the National Prevention Strategy, National Disaster Recovery Framework and Healthy People 2020 which address options to support and empower disadvantaged populations. Federal, state and community based activities and partnerships which strengthen these communities will be highlighted. Lastly, recommendations for action around social justice and health equity from the deliberations of the community based recovery task forces will be provided.