Team Profile Summary

The Bernalillo County Team plans to advocate for and develop land use and social policies that address: (1) the disproportionate environmental pollutant burden on minority, low-income and vulnerable communities, and (2) the cumulative impact of multiple environmental and social stressors on the health of the community. We anticipate that the efforts of our Place Matters Team will result in improved local policies that are protective of public health.

For additional information, please contact George Schroeder at (505) 314-0326 or at gschroeder@bernco.gov.

Team Profile Details

Problem Statement

Bernalillo County’s South Valley is a predominantly minority, underserved community. Problems of poverty, unemployment, and inadequate access to health care adversely impact residents’ health status. South Valley residents also shoulder a disproportionate burden of pollution created by emissions from heavy industry when compared with residents living in other neighborhoods in Bernalillo County. The proximity of homes to industry is a leading concern of the Bernalillo County Place Matters Team and area residents. Data from the New Mexico Tumor Registry shows that residents of the Mountain View neighborhood in the South Valley experience greater incidence rates for lung, bladder, brain, and thyroid cancer and leukemia when compared with the rest of Bernalillo County. New Mexico Department of Health data shows the rate of hospitalization for asthma amongst 5 to 14 year-olds is highest in the South Valley’s major zip code of 87105.

Team Objectives and Actions

• Hold regular focus groups on land use and health.
• The team is developing an epidemiologic surveillance tool based on the CADH Health Equity Index. The tool will enable analysts and community members to explore the relationships between social determinants of health and health status in small geographic areas.

Community Partners: (in alphabetical order)

• Alliance for Active Living
• American Friends Service Committee
• Bernalillo County Office of Environmental Health
• Bernalillo County Planning Commission
• Mountain View Neighborhood Association
• New Mexico Department of Health, Office of Community Assessment
• New Mexico Health Equity Working Group
• Rio Grande Community Development Corporation
• Saint Joseph’s Community Health
• South Valley Acequia Association
• South Valley Partners for Environmental Justice
• Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice
• University of New Mexico’s Robert Wood Johnson Center for Health Policy
• University of New Mexico’s Institute for Public Health & 3 research departments
• 1000 Friends of New Mexico

For more information and to become involved, please contact:

Team Lead: George Schroeder, Environmental Health Manager
Email: gschroeder@bernco.gov
Phone: (505) 314-0326