cOMMUNITY SERVED North General Hospital’s Primary Service Area (PSA) consists of 6 zip codes, in Central and East Harlem, where NGH is situated.

AMBULATORY CARE SENSITIVE CONDITIONS

One indicator of community’s health is the rate of hospital admissions for Ambulatory Care Sensitive (ACS) Conditions. ACS conditions are particularly responsive to ambulatory care interventions and do not typically result in or require hospitalization if appropriate outpatient care is made available.

ACS conditions include pediatric otitis media, respiratory infections, adult and pediatric pneumonia, adult and pediatric bronchitis and asthma, congestive heart failure and shock, hypertension, diabetes and a number of other illnesses.

A review of 2001 ACS admission rates for service area residents suggested the need for improved access to primary care services. As illustrated below, Central and East Harlem residents are hospitalized at rates up to three times that of the City as a whole. East Harlem exhibits particularly high admission rates for asthma and pneumonia when compared to the City as a whole.