An Inclusive Litany

1/22/95

The Boston Globe, January 22, 1995:
Citing several studies detailing the relationship between stress, isolation and higher death rates, 27 doctors recently warned politicians about the health consequences of abolishing rent control.

"If rent control vanishes, dozens will die," said Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, an internist at Cambridge Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, in a memo signed by 26 other doctors at the hospital.

"Studies show a four-fold increase in death rates for heart attack victims facing high life stresses and social isolation," she said. "One-third of our heart attack patients at Cambridge Hospital live in rent-controlled apartments. By allowing landlords to force them out, the governor and state Legislature are implementing the death penalty—a social policy sure to kill."