No reason kids' homes should make them ill

[Guest guest]

No reason kids' homes should make them ill

March 24, 2007

BY JOHN BARTLETT

http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/311082,CST-EDT-REF24A.article

Outrage has grown -- as it should -- over the mold, roaches, mice

and poor living conditions at Walter Army Medical Center.

According to U.S. Rep. Harry Waxman, ''This may be just the tip of

the iceberg.''

Waxman is correct, perhaps more than he realizes. The scandal of

poor living conditions at the army hospital is representative of a

much larger problem facing hundreds of thousands of this nation's

low- and moderate-income residents: They are living in substandard

housing conditions, including mold, roaches and mice, that are

causing or triggering serious and preventable illnesses.

In the same way that everyone expects a hospital to be clean and

safe, we have that same expectation of our homes. Yet housing is

often overlooked as a hidden determinant to health. Substandard

housing in particular can cause significant public health problems.

An increasing body of evidence has shown strong associations between

housing conditions and health.

For example, children are still being poisoned by lead paint almost

30 years after lead in paint was banned. According to the Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention, 310,000 children were poisoned

by lead in 2002. In Chicago alone, 3,500 children were poisoned in

2005. In more than 90 percent of the cases, the lead dust was found

in the home. Lead is a neurotoxin that damages a child's developing

brain, resulting in irreversible brain damage, lower IQ and juvenile

delinquency. According to Ralph , Alliance for Healthy

Homes, ''The real shame is that lead poisoning is entirely

preventable. We can make homes lead safe.''

Annually, the centers estimate that 14,000 people die from radon-

related cancer, 500 from carbon monoxide poisoning, and 3,000 from

house fires. These numbers don't begin to reflect the health-care

costs, lost work and missed school because of illness.

Asthma is another illness that is increasing nationally and is

linked to the home.

Airborne particles caused by rodent feces, mold and other irritants

in the home are known to be major contributors to asthma. The

American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago reports that

asthma attacks send about 70,000 Chicagoans to the emergency room

every year. One recent study showed that the prevalence of asthma is

as high as 30 percent in some low-income minority neighborhoods.

Many of these neighborhoods have high concentrations of older

housing stock that is badly in need of maintenance -- even more than

the Walter hospital.

The solutions to this kind of neglect are fairly straightforward. A

recent study in Harlem, New York, found that an ambitious program in

which health-care workers collaborated with housing advocates was

able to virtually eliminate the need for overnight hospitalization

because of asthma attacks. The public health nurses educated

residents about the proper use of medicines to manage the illness

and housing advocates worked to rid the homes of rats, roaches, mold

and other asthma triggers. The study found that while there is no

cure for asthma, the disease could be controlled through a

combination of medicine and improved environmental conditions.

In the same way that there is no reason for wounded vets to live in

substandard conditions, there is no reason that our children should

be getting sick in their homes. We can do something about it, but it

takes investment in maintaining our housing stock.

Despite this growing body of evidence linking health and homes,

President Bush's budget for fiscal 2008 contains a decrease in

funding Healthy Homes Programs. If anything, we should be increasing

our investment and making sure that no one lives in a home that

makes them sick.

So the neglect at Walter Army Medicine Center is just the tip

of an iceberg of general neglect of our housing stock -- especially

for low- and moderate-income people -- that will cost our nation

dearly in the long run in the form of poor public health.

Bartlett is director of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization

[Guest guest]

Is this an article written by the paper? I wanted to write a response

but it looked like an opinion from the public. Good article. ---

In , " tigerpaw2c " <tigerpaw2c@...>

wrote:

>

> No reason kids' homes should make them ill

>

> March 24, 2007

> BY JOHN BARTLETT

>

> http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/311082,CST-EDT-

REF24A.article

>

> Outrage has grown -- as it should -- over the mold, roaches, mice

> and poor living conditions at Walter Army Medical Center.

> According to U.S. Rep. Harry Waxman, ''This may be just the tip of

> the iceberg.''

> Waxman is correct, perhaps more than he realizes. The scandal of

> poor living conditions at the army hospital is representative of a

> much larger problem facing hundreds of thousands of this nation's

> low- and moderate-income residents: They are living in substandard

> housing conditions, including mold, roaches and mice, that are

> causing or triggering serious and preventable illnesses.

>

> In the same way that everyone expects a hospital to be clean and

> safe, we have that same expectation of our homes. Yet housing is

> often overlooked as a hidden determinant to health. Substandard

> housing in particular can cause significant public health problems.

> An increasing body of evidence has shown strong associations

between

> housing conditions and health.

>

> For example, children are still being poisoned by lead paint almost

> 30 years after lead in paint was banned. According to the Centers

> for Disease Control and Prevention, 310,000 children were poisoned

> by lead in 2002. In Chicago alone, 3,500 children were poisoned in

> 2005. In more than 90 percent of the cases, the lead dust was found

> in the home. Lead is a neurotoxin that damages a child's developing

> brain, resulting in irreversible brain damage, lower IQ and

juvenile

> delinquency. According to Ralph , Alliance for Healthy

> Homes, ''The real shame is that lead poisoning is entirely

> preventable. We can make homes lead safe.''

>

> Annually, the centers estimate that 14,000 people die from radon-

> related cancer, 500 from carbon monoxide poisoning, and 3,000 from

> house fires. These numbers don't begin to reflect the health-care

> costs, lost work and missed school because of illness.

>

> Asthma is another illness that is increasing nationally and is

> linked to the home.

>

> Airborne particles caused by rodent feces, mold and other irritants

> in the home are known to be major contributors to asthma. The

> American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago reports that

> asthma attacks send about 70,000 Chicagoans to the emergency room

> every year. One recent study showed that the prevalence of asthma

is

> as high as 30 percent in some low-income minority neighborhoods.

> Many of these neighborhoods have high concentrations of older

> housing stock that is badly in need of maintenance -- even more

than

> the Walter hospital.

>

> The solutions to this kind of neglect are fairly straightforward. A

> recent study in Harlem, New York, found that an ambitious program

in

> which health-care workers collaborated with housing advocates was

> able to virtually eliminate the need for overnight hospitalization

> because of asthma attacks. The public health nurses educated

> residents about the proper use of medicines to manage the illness

> and housing advocates worked to rid the homes of rats, roaches,

mold

> and other asthma triggers. The study found that while there is no

> cure for asthma, the disease could be controlled through a

> combination of medicine and improved environmental conditions.

>

> In the same way that there is no reason for wounded vets to live in

> substandard conditions, there is no reason that our children should

> be getting sick in their homes. We can do something about it, but

it

> takes investment in maintaining our housing stock.

>

> Despite this growing body of evidence linking health and homes,

> President Bush's budget for fiscal 2008 contains a decrease in

> funding Healthy Homes Programs. If anything, we should be

increasing

> our investment and making sure that no one lives in a home that

> makes them sick.

>

> So the neglect at Walter Army Medicine Center is just the tip

> of an iceberg of general neglect of our housing stock -- especially

> for low- and moderate-income people -- that will cost our nation

> dearly in the long run in the form of poor public health.

>

>

> Bartlett is director of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization

>