The Center for Disaster Medicine at New York Medical College has been awarded a federal grant to study the impact of mold and other environmental hazards on response workers and homeowners in New York City neighborhoods hardest hit a year ago by Hurricane Sandy.
NYMC officials said the $561,054 grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health at the Centers for Disease Control will fund a two-year study comparing the health of  400 volunteers and homeowners who received safety training from the New York City Department of Health with 400 of their neighbors who did not receive training. The disaster medicine center in Valhalla will collaborate on the study with the city health department.
Dr. Michael J. Reilly, recently appointed director of the Center for Disaster Medicine, in the announcement said it is the largest research grant the center has received since its founding in 2005 as a division of the Institute for Public Health in the medical college”™s School of Health Sciences and Practice.
He said the study”™s purpose is “to better understand the impact of mold and other environmental hazards on individuals who remediated storm-affected homes, and better anticipate the health needs of similarly impacted communities in the future.”
Dr. Edward C. Halperin, New York Medical College chancellor and CEO, said the research grant “demonstrates the commitment of New York Medical College”™s faculty to simultaneously serve the public while generating new knowledge about the causes and prevention of human disease and disability. The public health consequences of natural disasters may, potentially, extend long after the acute event.”
