Camden, New Jersey, is a city with many challenges. With a median income of $23,421 and 45% of children living in poverty, it is one of the poorest cities in the United States. Only 51% of adults have a high school diploma. Camden also struggles with high crime and unemployment. Beginning in 2002, the State of New Jersey appointed a Chief Operating Officer to overseemunicipal government operations. Redevelopment plans underway in many neighborhoods have increased fears that residents will be relocated.
In this context of change and distrust, there is a pressing need for reliable information that is presented without an ideological agenda. In addition, regularly updated data is necessary to help determine the effectiveness of ongoing interventions in Camden.
The purpose of CAMConnect: Linking Communities with Information is to expand and democratize access to information for residents and organizations that live and work in the City of Camden. In addition to maintaining a popular website with neighborhood-level demographic data and reports about Camden, CAMConnect has produced a series of original topical reports on issues such as voter participation, attitudes towards health providers, children and youth, the municipal budget, and employment. CAMConnect is also a participant in the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP) coordinated by the Urban Institute. NNIP is a collaborative effort of 26 partners to further the development and use of neighborhood information systems in local policymaking and community building throughout the United States.
Derek Ziegler is CAMConnect’s Executive Director and will coordinate this project. Derek has worked with CAMConnect for almost three years, first as Program Manager, and then as Executive Director since July 2005. He has experience with data analysis and presentation, GIS mapping, survey design and analysis, and project evaluation. Derek has a Master’s of City Planning degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
CAMConnect is an organization at a crossroads. We have successfully operated with one full-time professional staff person for the past two and a half years. However, we would like to continue to expand and improve the information we can provide to the Camden community. In the next two years, with the assistance of the ______Foundation, we hope to accomplish the following:
Development of a Camden health database - Currently CAMConnect has gathered patient-level discharge-coding data from the three major hospital institutions in CamdenCity for 2003. These datasets include variables such as patient address, age, race, and insurance status. This data has the potential to bring neighborhood-level health data to the community of Camden to gain insight into health problems, target intervention and funding, and evaluate those problems and interventions over time.
CAMConnect has begun to prepare some preliminary reports on the 2003 data. However, with nearly 70,000 records and numerous inconsistencies in the data, standardizing the dataset for analysis has proven complex and time-consuming. Still, the initial investigation has been promising, as patterns in hospital usage have been identified. For instance, even at a basic level, the data can illustrate patterns such as the most common diagnoses in Camden, what diagnoses are most common for charity care (or other insurance status), and which neighborhoods are most susceptible to conditions such as asthma and hypertension.
Additional funding would enable CAMConnect to develop a database that will greatly expand and simplify the data collection and analysis process. This new database will enable the 2003 data to be compared to data from 2004 and 2005, allow for geographic comparisons, and result in the creation of new reports almost in real-time that could track health problems. In conjunction with ongoing partnerships with the local hospitals and the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, the database could serve as the basis for even more comprehensive and informed health planning and targeted intervention.
Preparation of Camden health reports – Using information from the database, CAMConnect will prepare short annual summary reports during the 2006-2007 funding years. These reports will assess areas such as asthma, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, childhood health, and violence. For instance, on the asthma report, it will be possible to report the age distribution of patients being treated, their insurance status, their location within CamdenCity, and the number of visits made by each patient.
Regularly updated status report on development projects – Redevelopment plans areunderway or pending in most Camdenneighborhoods, along with an expansive school construction program. In May 2005, CAMConnect prepared a brief fact report on redevelopment projects in CamdenCity that included the scope and impact of some of the redevelopment projects. Over the next 2 years, we would like to expand, update, and distribute this report each quarter to reflect changing conditions and to keep the public informed.
Updating of existing citywide and neighborhood demographic reports – CAMConnect prepared “Camden Facts” reports for each of Camden’s 21 Census tracts as well as the city as a whole in 2002 and 2003. These reports are the most frequently requested by CAMConnect’s members and on CAMConnect’s website, However, these reports are now somewhat out of date. New Census information will be available in summer 2006, which in conjunction with updated data on school performance, crime, and other indicators, will add to the depth of the updated reports.
The total project budget for undertaking these initiatives over the next two years is $90,000. From the ______Foundation, we would like to request total funding support of $50,000 for the next two years, or $25,000 per year. In addition to support from the ______Foundation, CAMConnect is projected to receive $20,000 annually from the Cooper Health System Department of Family Medicine, along with in-kind support including office space and printing. CAMConnect also has several ongoing fee-for-service contracts, and the organization receives annual membership contributions from over 30 members.
CAMConnect is excited by the prospect of working with the ______Foundation. We believe our work in linking the Camden community with information fits squarely within your _____ program area and interest, and we look forward to the opportunity to discuss this letter in more detail.