Earlier this week, Mayor Bloomberg announced a new plan to put health information of millions of New Yorkers online. He touted the initiative, "By bringing this health technology to New Yorkers, we are building a national model for a health care system that works... In Washington, they talk about how our health care system should be reformed; here in New York City, we are actually doing it." Using $60 million of city, state, and federal......

Well, most of them. According to a reported issued by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene yesterday, the city's overall death rate fell to an all-time low in 2006 mostly owing to decreases in smoking and HIV-related deaths. But although deaths from these causes were on the decline, those caused by substance abuse were up by 8 percent and lives lost from cancer and heart disease held steady for the year. 55,391 New Yorkers......

New York City's Conflict of Interest Board ruled that there was no problem in Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff continuing to work with real estate developers on multi-billion dollar real estate projects while a city employee, even though he'll be shortly negotiating with these same developers as a private citizen and President of Bloomberg LP, the Mayor's media corporation. According to the New York Post, the board cited "extraordinary circumstances" and said that Doctoroff's negotiations on......

Just in time for the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Mayor Bloomberg announced the launch of a new World Trade Center health website, to provide "one-stop shopping for 9/11 health-related issues," making it the single source everyone can go to. What might you be shopping for? Well, there's information about research and services as well as "easily accessible research findings." And there's also information about treatment options for different groups of people,......

The city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is urging New Yorkers to be careful of ticks while spending time outdoors, especially since many are traveling to forested and wooded areas. The DOH's report has helpful preventative steps you can take, as well tips on how to remove ticks. And this FAQ on ticks has more info about the nasty buggers. Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said, "While the number of tick related illnesses has fluctuated......

Today on Gothamist Newsmap: A brush fire at 147th and Harlem River Drive, a truck stuck under the bridge at the West 231st and Broadway subway tracks in the Bronx, and a barricaded EDP on Staten Island College news: NYU protesters didn't storm the stage when the president of the Minutemen visited and Barnard's president is stepping down after 14 years (!) According to the Post, Peter Braunstein "has sat through the hearings in......

And we'd subtitle the report "Or How 311 Doesn't Quite Work So Well." If you're looking for a page-turning read, look no further than the Department of Health's report - complete with next steps- on the rats at KFC/Taco Bell incident. Yesterday, Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said, "Our restaurant program performs well overall, but in this instance there were failings of personnel, policy and practice." Well, that's an understatement. The DOH detailed the rat......

In a Department of Health and Mental Hygiene two-fer, the DOH announced that 5 million NYC Condoms were given given away between February 14 and March 14, while the Times reveals that the DOH is also working on a campaign to promote circumcision. The condoms, which the city handed out to the public on Valentine's Day and distributed to community organizations and stores, are a "sensation" according to Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden. Frieden said, "I......

The other day, we were listening to the radio and heard an ad with Wesley Autrey, the city's beloved subway hero! Autrey has done a series of public service announcements with the city's health department to encourage New Yorkers over 50 to get screened for colon cancer. From the DOH statement: "I’m an average New Yorker over the age of 50 who could be at risk of colon cancer," said Autrey. "That’s why I’m joining......

Even a week later, there's breaking news about the rats-at-the- Greenwich-Village-fast- food-joint story. The Health Department announced the health inspector who passed the restaurant the day before the rat show has been suspended. Not only that, the health department is :- Reviewing all the restaurants the inspector visited since joining last summer and may re-inspect them - Revisiting all restaurants owned by the franchise operator - Going to provide "training specific to assessment of rodent......

Yesterday, the Department of Health handed out the new NYC Condom all over town (video, too), excitedly pointing out that NYC is the first city to brand its own condom! Woo! Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden explained the move towards a branded condom, "Branding condoms is a great way to encourage their use. You know it's good quality, and you know it's a name you can trust." Frieden was also punny, saying, "We are unveiling,......

Having already taken caffeine addiction and the price of a cup of joe to new extremes, Starbucks continues to set new standards by planning to eliminate trans-fats six months earlier than the new ban actually requires them to. Metro-area Starbucks will be knocking trans-fats off of their menus beginning tomorrow and while most of their drinks are already free of the stuff, some of the foods they carry are chock full of `em. The Daily......

There's a movement afoot to change the city's health code to better reflect dog and dog owner habits. The Health Department will have a public forum and comment period to discuss off-leash hours in parks. Right now, while the Parks Department allows dogs to go leash-less between 9PM and 9AM, the city's health code doesn't allow that, a strange happening that's gotten attention since Queens civic group, the Juniper Park Civic Association, to sue......

In a move to both elevate the level of cleanliness in restaurants and the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene brand, NYC's Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden announced the Golden Apple Award (press release with lots of details), which would bestow restaurants that "have excellent recent inspection results, participate in a new DOHMH Quality Improvement Food Protection course (or demonstrate that acceptable quality assurance measures have been in place for the last 12 months) and pass......

Fine, Mayor Bloomberg, you're making the whole going-out experience a little less gritty and exciting than it used to be (smoke-filled bars! loud music till all hours!). But if you do make city restaurants provide nutritional information, Gothamist won't have anything else to do but sit on the stoop with our 40! Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden says, "If people want to know, they should be able to find out." Yeah, but they might kill themselves......

A new report about the health conditions and violations of city food carts was released yesterday by State Controller Alan Hevesi. Violations include the sale of chicken with moldy bread, roaches in an ice cream cart, and one vendor urinating into a jar next to his cart. The Daily News points out that while 80% of restaurants are inspected, food carts have not been subject to similar monitoring. City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden told the......