Sentinel City Subsystems
A community is a group of people who share a common characteristic or interest and live together within a larger society. According to Saarloos et al., over the last two decades, the field of health promotion has paid more attention to the potential impact of the environment on health. It has become the accepted method for classifying the various environmental influences on individual health behavior (2009. para. 3). Physical, health and social, safety and transportation, education, recreation, politics and government, communication, and economics are the eight subsystems in a community. Sentinel City is divided into four communities. In this paper, I will continue my window survey by discussing four of the eight subsystems and investigating the various communities.
The Physical Setting
Disability, mortality, general health status, chronic conditions, birth outcomes, health behaviors, and other risk factors for chronic disease have all been linked to community physical environment features. In addition to mental health, injuries, violence, and other critical health indicators (Cubbin et al. 2008).
Nightingale Square was Sentinel City’s first neighborhood. The sidewalks and streets are clean and in good condition, the buildings are mostly large and bright, and there may be some graffiti, but it is minimal and not noticeable. The trees are neatly trimmed, and the road is lined with beautiful cars. Tennis courts, a basketball court, parks, large condominiums, and beautiful storefronts for clothing, jewelry, and various other shops can be found at Nightingale Square. A grocery store and a gas station are located at the far end of the community, where it appears to be less clean, and a small amount of garbage can be found outside a few buildings. The buildings are not as appealing, but they are still nice, and there is more graffiti on them. A large pharmacy, a dentist’s office, and a barber shop are nearby. Residents go for walks, run, bike, and walk their dogs. Nightingale Square is a community with “everything.” There is a sense of friendliness and openness to other people toward grocers, but there appears to be a sense of superiority to the rest of the community in other areas. People like families, couples, and others appear to stop by and watch the entertainment or come to meet people to “hang out” at and across from the grocer.
The second community is Acer Tech Center, which has mostly clean sidewalks and streets, well-kept buildings, more garbage outside buildings, nice sidewalks, and slightly more graffiti than Nightingale Square. A few stray dogs and cats run around, the trees are neatly trimmed, and the cars are in good condition. Sentinel City Healthcare Center, a large hospital, is one of the first things to notice, followed by Acer Center Business Center. There is a large fruit stand and courtyard between the hospital and the business center where people “hang out.” There is a small grocer, but the larger one is close to clothing stores, barbershops, and trade shops. City Hall is located in Acer Tech Center, where there are several protesters (middle-class?) protesting taxes. Acer has a Historic Hotel, which is most likely a tourist attraction or something of the sort. People are walking, cycling, and running. Another “hangout” area is in a courtyard across from the Affordable Housing Project, where there is a small fruit and vegetable stand, and people sit, stand, or walk around. Acer Tech appears to be a more welcoming environment for strangers due to the large diversity of people in the community of various classes, races, and ages. Casper Park, the third community, is unlike the first two in that the streets are filthy, there is even more garbage outside buildings, there is more visible graffiti, and the buildings require repair, with some having windows boarded up and others vacant. Low-income housing is available, but there are fewer cars, and they are in poor condition. The park is in terrible condition, with garbage and crates all over it, as well as homeless people, dogs, cats, and rats running around. The trees and grass are overgrown and require some care. People are sitting on benches and walking around a small fruit and vegetable stand and courtyard across from Low-income Housing. There is a small grocery store, a check cashing establishment, a clothing establishment, pawn shops, and a barbershop. Casper Park appears to be welcoming and friendly at first, but as you get deeper into the community, you notice a sense of territoriality.
The final community is Industrial Height, and the first thing you notice about it is the school, which is nice and has a large playground attached. There is a church with a soup kitchen, and the streets are clean. However, the further one goes into the community, the more garbage there is on the streets. Graffiti can be found everywhere, from the church to various buildings such as the Better Health Clinic and the building next to it, which appears to be a gang hangout due to the massive skull sign out front. There are wrecked cars, one on fire, garbage cans on fire, and buildings with large gang-related murals painted on the sides. The Department of Transportation is located here, and down the street is a rundown grocery with few options, boarded-up storefronts, and one store with busted-out windows. Construction for redevelopment housing with burst sewage pipes, as well as more dogs, cats, and rats running around. There are few cars on the road, an occasional motorcycle, and some pedestrians. This community is not welcoming; there is a sense of danger, and it is a very closed-off and territorial area.
Health and Welfare Services
“Access to comprehensive, quality health care services is essential for promoting and maintaining health, preventing, and managing the disease, reducing unnecessary disability and premature death, and achieving health equity for all Americans. This section focuses on three aspects of access to care: insurance coverage, health services, and response time. It is critical to consider oral health care and obtaining necessary prescription drugs when considering access to health care” (Access to Health Services. n.d.).
Sentinel City Healthcare System operates a variety of healthcare and social service facilities throughout the city. The main hospital provides emergency, inpatient, and ambulatory care. Nine primary care clinics with 82 physicians and eight specialty clinics with 33 doctors are located throughout the city. There are three orthodontist clinics, one endodontist clinic, three dental hygiene clinics, and two pediatric oral surgery clinics spread throughout the city for dental care. Mental health services are also available throughout the city, with five options ranging from case management services to the State Mental Hospital. There are also vision clinics and vision therapy centers located throughout the city. What is available depends on the community; unfortunately, the communities in need of the most healthcare, the poor and impoverished communities, have the least available or must travel the farthest. Medical assistance advocates, service animals, Government Entitlement Assistance, Senior Community Centers, Meals on Wheels, and Elder Abuse Prevention Advocates are some of the eldercare social services that are available. There are 3472 senior living units, twenty-four swing beds, 36 Long Term Care facilities, and 64 Skilled Nursing facilities. More facilities include 248 Assisted Living units, 2874 Nursing Home units, and 1048 independent senior living apartments spread throughout the city.
Healthy food options are also important. There is a Jo’s Grocery in Nightingale Square that sells organic food for the majority of its sales, and there are three fruit and vegetable carts in two of the communities, Acer Tech and Casper Park, that is located in the community’s courtyards. The fourth community has a Soup Kitchen at the church that serves healthy meals to the homeless and hungry. In addition to the large grocery store, Industrial Heights has many small and medium-sized grocery stores. There are numerous fast food restaurants, Italian restaurants, donut shops, Sushi restaurants, and Pizza restaurants, to name a few. There are a few restaurants that serve sit-down dinners with healthy options.
Transportation and security
According to the website County Health Rankings, Community Safety takes into account not only intentional acts in neighborhoods and homes but also injuries caused by accidents. Many injuries can be predicted and avoided. The chronic stress that comes with living in unsafe neighborhoods can hasten to age and harm one’s health. Because of the fear of violence, unsafe neighborhoods cause anxiety, depression, and stress, keeping people indoors, away from neighbors, exercise, and healthy foods. Jobs are harder to come by because businesses may be less willing to invest in dangerous areas (2017).
Sentinel City has a high rate of violence, the greater the risk of becoming a victim of a crime; in every community, police officers patrol in police cars. The police appear to have as much of the city covered as possible; they are at the Nightingale Square Grocery Store, directing traffic at Acer Tech Hospital and the Industrial Heights School. Aside from an increase at City Hall for the obvious reason of the protest, there is also an increase in Industrial Park for broken storefront windows and foot patrolling in Casper Park. Despite what appears to be an adequate police presence, I believe that crime is very likely, particularly in Industrial Heights and Casper Park. Because of gang involvement, low income, and poverty, there is a greater likelihood of crime, with aggravated assault being the most common.
Sentinel City appears to rely heavily on public transportation, followed by bicycles and then cars. Walking appears to be another mode of transportation used by the residents. Bicycling/walking is the least expensive mode of transportation, followed by taking the bus and finally driving. Another mode of transportation in Sentinel City for getting from one city to the next is the train system, which runs above Pine Street behind City Hall in Acer Tech. There is a highway nearby because Nightingale Square has an overpass over Station Road. There are fire hydrants throughout Sentinel City, and there is a Fire Department in Industrial Heights that responds to car and garbage can fires.
Conclusion
Sentinel City is just like any other city; there are different types of people in various situations. These people are wealthy, impoverished, or somewhere in between. There are no clear natural boundaries in Sentinel City, but the conditions of the various communities can serve as indicators of these limits. The various communities where people live, work, and play, as well as how they live, have an impact on their health. “Poverty and poor health are inextricably linked around the world. Political, social, and economic injustices are at the root of millions of people’s poor health around the world. Poverty is both the cause and the result of poor health” (Key Facts Poverty and Poor Health. n.d.).
References:
Access to Health Services. (n.d.). Retrieved June 05, 2017, from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/Access-to-Health-Services
Community Safety. (n.d.). Retrieved June 06, 2017, from http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/our-approach/health-factors/community-safety
Cubbin, Pedregon, Egerter, & Braveman. (2008, September). Where We Live Matters for Our Health: Neighborhoods and Health. Retrieved June 5, 2017, from http://www.commissiononhealth.org/PDF/888f4a18-eb90-45be-a2f8-159e84a55a4c/Issue %20Brief%203%20Sept%2008%20-%20Neighborhoods%20and%20Health.pdf
Key Facts Poverty and Poor Health. (n.d.). Retrieved June 05, 2017, from https://www.healthpovertyaction.org/info-and-resources/the-cycle-of-poverty-and-poor- health/key-facts/
Saarloos, D., Kim, J., & Timmermans, H. (2009, June). The Built Environment and Health: Introducing Individual Space-Time Behavior. Retrieved June 05, 2017, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2705214/
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Summary
A community is a group of individuals with a shared characteristic or interest living together within a larger society. Per Saarloos, D., Kim, J., & Timmermans, over the course of twenty years, the field of health promotion has revealed increased attention to the likely impact of the environment on health. It has become the standard approach to categorizing the various environmental influences on individual health behavior (2009. para. 3). In a community, there are eight subsystems; they are physical, health and social, safety and transportation, education, recreation, politics and government, communication, and economics. In Sentinel City, there are four communities. In this paper, I will continue my window survey and discuss four of the eight subsystems with exploring the different communities.
Sentinel City Subsystems
please read the paper below to find some information to complete the assignment. you can also find more information on the internet.
Physical Environment
The Physical Environment features of communities have been linked to disability, mortality, general health status, chronic conditions, birth outcomes, health behaviors and other risk factors for chronic disease. Along with mental health, injuries, violence, and other important health indicators (Cubbin, Pedregon, Egerter, & Braveman. 2008).
Sentinel City’s first community, Nightingale Square the sidewalks and streets have hardly any rubbish on them and are not in bad shape, buildings are mostly big and bright, there may be some graffiti but it is not much, and it is not that obvious. The trees are nicely trimmed, and beautiful cars line the road. Nightingale Square has tennis courts, a basketball court, and parks, large condominiums, beautiful storefronts for clothing, jewelry, and various other shops. There are a grocery store and a gas station located at the end of the community, where it seems to be not as clean, and a small amount of garbage is outside a few buildings. The buildings are not quite as attractive but are still nice, and there is more graffiti on the buildings. There is a large pharmacy, a dentist’s office and a barber shop in the vicinity. Residents are walking, running biking, and walking dogs. Nightingale Square is a community that has “everything” there is a sense of friendliness and openness to other people towards grocers, but in the other areas, there seems to be a feeling of superiorness to the remainder of the community. At and across from the grocer seems to be a place where people like families, couples and others will stop by and watch the entertainment or come to meet people to “hang out.”
The second community is Acer Tech Center the sidewalks and streets are mostly clean, buildings are in good shape, there is more garbage outside buildings, sidewalks are nice, and there is a bit more graffiti than Nightingale Square but not too bad. A few loose dogs and cats are running around, the trees are neatly trimmed, and the cars are in good shape. A large hospital, Sentinel City Healthcare Center is one of the first things to see and then there is Acer Center Business Center next to it. In between the hospital and the business center, there is a large fruit stand and courtyard where people are “hanging -out.” There is a small grocer, but the large one is not too far away from clothing shops, barber shops, and trade shops. City Hall is in Acer Tech Center where there is a bunch of protesters (middle-class?) protesting about taxes. There is a Historic Hotel in Acer which is more than likely a tourist attraction or something like that. People are walking, riding bikes and running. There is another “hang-out” area in a courtyard across from the Affordable Housing Project, where there is a small fruit and vegetable stand with people sitting on benches, standing, or walking around. Acer Tech seems to be friendly, and a more pleasant area to welcome strangers because there is a large mixture of people throughout the community in various classes, races, and ages. The third community Casper Park is unlike the first two communities, the streets are dirty, there is, even more, garbage outside buildings, there is more noticeable graffiti, and the buildings need repair, some of them have windows boarded up and some vacant. Low-Income Housing is available, there are fewer cars, and they are not in top working order. The park is in appalling shape with garbage, and crates all around, homeless people, dogs, cats, and rats running around. The trees and grass are overgrown and need some attention. There is a small fruit and vegetable stand and courtyard across from Low-income Housing; people are sitting on benches and walking around. There is a small grocer, a check cashing store, a clothing store, pawn shops, and a barbershop. Casper Park at first seems to be welcoming and friendly but going deeper into the community you get a sense of territoriality.
The last community is Industrial Height, the first thing in the community is the school which is nice with a large playground attached. There is a church with a soup kitchen, and the streets are dirty but not too bad. However, the deeper into the community, the more garbage there is that lines the streets. Graffiti is all over, from the church with signs of tagging in various buildings like the Better Health Clinic and the building next to it, which seems to be a gang’s hangout due to the massive skull sign out front. There are cars broken down, one on fire, garbage cans on fire, and buildings have large gang-related murals painted on some of the sides. The Department of Transportation is located here, down the street there is a rundown grocery with not much to choose from, there are boarded storefronts and one store with busted-out windows. Construction for re-development housing with burst sewage pipes with more dogs, cats, and rats running free. There are few cars on the road, an occasional motorcycle every so often and some people walking. This community is not welcoming; it has a feeling of being very unsafe, and it is a very closed-up and territorial area.
Health and Social Services
“Access to comprehensive, quality health care services is essential for promoting and maintaining health, preventing, and managing the disease, reducing unnecessary disability and premature death, and achieving health equity for all Americans. This topic area focuses on three components of access to care: insurance coverage, health services, and timeliness of attention. When considering access to health care, it is important also to include oral health care and obtaining necessary prescription drugs” (Access to Health Services. n.d.).
Sentinel City Healthcare System has various healthcare and social service facilities in all diverse communities. There is the main hospital with Emergency, Inpatient, and ambulatory care. Spread throughout the city are nine primary care clinics with Eighty-two physicians and eight specialty clinics with thirty-three doctors. The dental care there are three orthodontist clinics, one endodontist clinic, three dental hygiene clinics and two pediatric oral surgery clinics which are also spread throughout the city. Mental Health services are also available throughout the city the Mental facilities range from case management services to the State Mental Hospital to have a total of five options. The vision clinics and vision therapy centers are also spread throughout. Depending on the community is the deciding factor to what is available, unfortunately, the communities needing the most healthcare, the poor and impoverished communities have the least available or need to travel the furthest. Eldercare social services that are available are medical assistance advocates, service animals, Government Entitlement Assistance, Senior Community Centers, Meals on Wheels, and Elder Abuse Prevention Advocates. There are 3472 senior living units, twenty-four Swing beds, thirty-six Long Term Care, and sixty-four Skilled Nursing facilities. More facilities are two hundred forty-eight Assisted Living, 2874 Nursing Home units, and 1048 independent senior living apartments, these are all spread throughout the city.
Healthy food choices are also of importance there is Jo’s Grocery in Nightingale Square which sells organic food for most of its sales, there are three fruit and vegetable carts in two of the communities Acer Tech, and Casper Park placed at the courtyards in the community. The fourth community has a Soup Kitchen at the church that feeds the homeless and hungry healthy meals. Besides the large grocery store, there are many small groceries and one that is moderately sized in Industrial Heights. There are numerous fast food restaurants, Italian, donut shops, Sushi, and Pizza shops, to name a few. There are a few restaurants that are sit-down dinners with healthy choices available.
Safety and Transportation
Per the website, County Health Rankings, Community Safety considers not only intentional acts in neighborhoods and homes but also injuries caused accidentally. Many injuries are predictable and preventable. Living in unsafe neighborhoods can accelerate aging and harm health because of the chronic stress associated with it. Neighborhoods that are unsafe causes anxiety, depression, and stress, keeping people indoors, away from neighbors, exercise, and healthy foods due to the fear of violence. Jobs are harder to find because companies may be less willing to invest in unsafe neighborhoods (2017).
Sentinel City, has a high rate of violence, depending on the community greater the risk of being a crime victim, There are Police patrolling in police cars in all communities. The police seem to have the city covered a good as possible, they are at the Grocery Store in Nightingale Square, directing traffic at the hospital in Acer Tech, and the School in Industrial Heights. Other than having an increased amount at City Hall for obvious the obvious reason of the protest there is also an increase in Industrial Park for the broken storefront windows and patrolling on foot in Casper Park. Even though there seems to be somewhat adequate police presence; I feel that it is highly possible for crime to be committed, especially in Industrial Heights and Casper park. Due to gang involvement, low income and poverty, this makes a greater chance for there to be crimes and aggravated assault being the top crime.
Transportation in Sentinel City appears to be mostly by taking the bus, the next would be by bicycle, and then by car. Traveling on foot seems to be another means used by the residents. The least costly is bicycling/walking, riding the bus and last would be by car. Another form of transportation in Sentinel City that would be to travel from city to city is the train system; it passes above Pine Street behind City Hall in Acer Tech. There is a highway close by because there is an overpass over Station Road in Nightingale Square. There are fire hydrants throughout Sentinel city, and there is a Fire Department that responds to car and garbage can fires in Industrial Heights.
Conclusion
Sentinel City is just like any other city; there are kinds of people with many different situations. These people are rich, poor, or somewhere in between. There are no clear natural boundaries in Sentinel City, but you can see the conditions of the different communities as an indication of these limits. The various communities where people live, work, play, and how they live to affect their health. “Poverty and poor health worldwide are inextricably linked. The causes of poor health for millions globally are rooted in political, social, and economic injustices. Poverty is both a cause and a consequence of poor health” (Key Facts Poverty and Poor Health. n.d.).
References:
Access to Health Services. (n.d.). Retrieved June 05, 2017, from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/Access-to-Health-Services
Community Safety. (n.d.). Retrieved June 06, 2017, from http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/our-approach/health-factors/community-safety
Cubbin, Pedregon, Egerter, & Braveman. (2008, September). Where We Live Matters for Our Health: Neighborhoods and Health. Retrieved June 5, 2017, from http://www.commissiononhealth.org/PDF/888f4a18-eb90-45be-a2f8-159e84a55a4c/Issue%20Brief%203%20Sept%2008%20-%20Neighborhoods%20and%20Health.pdf
Key Facts Poverty and Poor Health. (n.d.). Retrieved June 05, 2017, from https://www.healthpovertyaction.org/info-and-resources/the-cycle-of-poverty-and-poor-health/key-facts/
Saarloos, D., Kim, J., & Timmermans, H. (2009, June). The Built Environment and Health: Introducing Individual Space-Time Behavior. Retrieved June 05, 2017, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2705214/