Slide over image to show hospital openings before and after 1970. Data from NYC Open Data
Over Time
Using data from the New York City Health department and the data retrieval tools from open ny,
the effects of the Young Lords direct action are clear. After gaining concessions from public health officials for testing, the exponential increase in clinical facilities focused primarily in Harlem and the Bronx brought millions of people closer to accessing Health Care facilities.
Data from NYC Open Data
Implications
The early 20th century experienced the first boom of hospital construction, with the major metropolitan serving Lincoln, Metropolitan, Harlem, and Sydenham hospitals opening before the start of the 20th century and Jacobi Medical Center opening in 1901.
There is no official explanation for the 75 year gap between the construction of the Jacobi Medical Complex and the North Central Bronx Hospital despite a population growth of over 1 million people (Data from NYC Open Data). There is also no official explanation about the surge of health facility construction beginning in the 1990s. The boroughs with the highest population growths also saw the highest number of health facilities open.
The visibility The Young Lords brought to health inequities most directly resulted in expanding tuberculosis and lead testing and the renovation of the Lincoln Medical Complex. However, it is certain that their mass community-oriented approach to change helped refocus municipal resources toward providing a stronger case for health access that had been seen before in Harlem and the Bronx.