A health crisis can be any negative change in mental or physical wellbeing. Whether it is a medical emergency, an unexpected life event, or an underlying condition that threatens quality of life, it can have a profound impact on patients and their families.
Drug overdoses, suicide and other forms of self-harm, chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease, and even housing insecurity are often the root causes of a health crisis. But the problem is much larger than these isolated cases. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control, the US is experiencing a health crisis that is killing people at record rates.
Addiction has become a major issue, and its lethality has recently increased dramatically with the rise of powerful opioids. This has resulted in a high death rate, even outpacing the auto fatality rate and exceeding that of lung and bronchial cancers. In 2022, the CDC reported more than 100,000 overdose deaths, an increase of nearly fivefold from 2002 and double the number from 2015.
The opiate epidemic has also sparked a behavioral health crisis, with a massive backlog in treatment programs. Across the country, hundreds of thousands of patients are stuck in hospital emergency departments or medical-surgical units waiting for a behavioral health bed to open up. The problem is further exacerbated by staffing shortages, which prevent the discharge of those who no longer require hospital care.
Many of the strategies required for a response to a health crisis are complex and require cross-government collaboration. However, previous large-scale plans from NYC — including those on gun violence, climate, and housing – have demonstrated that the city can successfully mobilize a whole-of-government approach to address these challenges.