(Feb. 1, 2010/Harrisburg, Pa.) GeoDecisions, an information technology company specializing in geospatial solutions, worked with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to develop the Environmental Public Health Tracking Portal. The portal enables citizens to access data and information about environmental and health conditions in the city.

Among its many functions, the portal provides the ability to quickly compare various environmental and health conditions across the city’s neighborhoods. For instance, it is now possible to view pesticide use by neighborhood, or see how closely related childhood asthma hospitalizations are with exposure to second-hand cigarette smoke in the home.

The portal can also highlight citywide trends, such as the number of days on which air-quality advisories have been issued for general or special populations. Available at www.nyc.gov/health/trackingportal, it provides continually updated information on a variety of issues. The portal is part of a national initiative led by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A national portal that provides access to standardized data from participating states and New York City is available at www.cdc.gov/ephtracking.

The health tracking portal was developed using a variety of technologies, including ESRI® ArcIMS® and ArcGIS® Server in a unique hybrid design, and it includes analysis tools for charting, mapping, graphing, multivariate analysis, and data exporting.

GeoDecisions’ experienced staff of professional consultants, analysts, and developers support clients worldwide. Fundamental to the company’s award-winning approach is the integration of spatial information to empower existing systems and processes. GeoDecisions’ philosophy is based on an enterprisewide approach to the integration of diverse information technologies, data formats, and systems.

GeoDecisions is ISO 9001:2008 certified.