NC Voices: Diabetes Part 1

If you’re a white North Carolinian, you’re statistically likely to be born stronger, live healthier, and die later than your African American or Latino counterpart. You’re also not as likely to suffer from a chronic disease, and if you do, you’re less likely to die of it. Some say that’s because of racial bias within the health care system. But others say the problem’s much bigger than that – and health care alone can’t solve it. Laura Leslie reports for North Carolina Voices.

Since experts mapped the human genome, the continuous flow of new information has affected decisions people are making about their health. As part of our series, "North Carolina Voices: Diagnosing Health Care," producer Susan Davis considers what people learn from genetic testing and if it’s always helpful. When Susan’s father died of Alzheimer’s disease in 1992 experts were not sure if there was a genetic link to the disease. But now they’re sure. And there’s a test she could take to find out if she has it.

This week we’re examining the health care system and asking whether it actually promotes good health. Today, we look at health care facilities themselves. From toxic chemicals and medical waste, to round-the-clock energy and water use, the way hospitals are built and maintained can have serious effects on the patients inside and on the environment beyond. So as the population ages and hospital construction booms, the health care industry is examining the central creed of medicine "to do no harm" and applying it the environment too.