Using the website www.countyhealthrankings.org, I
was able to review a series of various indicators of the counties of New York
and see how they compare to each other. These indicators came from self reported
health surveys used as a general measure of health related quality of life in a
population.
Over
all St Lawrence county ranked pretty low in New York, coming in at 57 out of
62. In mortality it was above the state average and ranked 54. Across the board,
St Lawrence county ranked poor in morbidity in the categories of fair health,
physical health days, and mental health days when compared to the other
counties of New York. The reasons for these poor rankings could be linked to
some other data that was also collected in the surveys.
When
it came to adult smoking, obesity and inactivity, St Lawrence county was well
over the national average and also the New York average. There have been
numerous studies linking a higher mortality and morbidity to these factors.
Some other interesting numbers that support the low ranking is the limited
access to healthy foods and recreational facilities both of which were below
the national and New York average.
When
it came to ranking Clinical care, St Lawrence came in at 52. What surprised me
the most was how big the primary care provider shortage was. In the county it
is 1,712:1 with the nation average being 631:1 and in New York 781:1. This huge
shortage could also account for the 108 reported preventable hospital stays,
which is more than double the national and New York averages.
These
surveys are very helpful in seeing trends and in making correlations between
them. By far the biggest concern I believe is the primary care provider
shortage. With more providers, more people would have access to information,
health check ups and the ability to make health changes in a safe way.
Hopefully this website helps people realize there is a problem and there is a
need to fix it.
I found it interesting to see the data for St. Lawrence county. I don't know much about St. Lawrence county, but I do know that it is located in a rural area of northern NY. The county's location and access to health care likely contributes to the poor health data within the county.
ReplyDeleteI agree that if there were more primary care physicians in the county, this could really improve the county's health by allowing for more time with each patient. When a physician has more time to get to know their patients history and lifestyle, they can have more of an impact on improving their health. As future providers it is our responsibility to educate and encourage our patients to live a healthy life.
I think that although increasing the number of primary care providers might help improve the county's overall health it seems as though this is a bigger problem. This might be an instance where a very active and well-funded community rural health network could make a significant difference in the overall health of the population. A rural health network would be able to educate large amounts of people about the importance of healthy living through a variety of events and health promotions. Not only could the health network provide education for the people but it could also help the residents of the county best utilize the resources available to them and possibly provide additional resources to help people maintain healthy lifestyles.
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