The Bronx Health Link, Inc. (TBHL) was founded in 1998 by a collaborative effort of the Bronx Borough President's office, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, Our Lady of Mercy Center, and St. Barnabas Hospital. Its first project was a community needs assessment of residents' health needs and concerns, determined through a survey and a series of focus groups and community forums.
Since 2001, TBHL has received -grants through the City Council's Infant Mortality Reduction Initiative and the New York State's Comprehensive Perinatal and Prenatal Services Network. Through both programs, TBHL coordinates networks of health and human service providers in the Bronx that engage in many activities to promote maternal and infant health.
In addition, since 2003, TBHL has organized, in collaboration with the Bronx Borough President's Office, the Bronx's signature annual health event, Community Health Education Day. This is a well-attended health fair at which scores of providers offer health information and promotion materials and services.
At various times, TBHL has also served Bronx residents by:
- Expanding breast cancer screening
- Providing support for breast cancer survivors
- Performing surveys of immigrant health needs for primary care services
- Advising the City Council Speaker on the Bronx's primary care needs
- Holding a discussion and educational forum with the Bronx community about proposals for national health care reform
- Participating with NYC health providers and advocates in development of a child health policy agenda, and
- Presenting information at conferences on health disparities in the Bronx and how to overcome them.