The website "County Health Rankings & Roadmaps" by the University of Wisconsin lists statistics for each county in the United States and it was interesting to see how Cayuga County does in certain categories compared to other counties in New York State and the United States. Cayuga's mortality (premature death) is slightly higher than New York's and the nation's, and poor mental health days are slightly higher (taking into account the variation the large error margin of a county versus a nation), but the low birth weight rate is lower than New York's, but higher than the national average. In terms of socioeconomic factors, Cayuga has a higher high school graduation rate than New York, but lower percentage of those who continue onto college. For unemployment, children in poverty, inadequate social support, children in single-parent households, and violent crime rate, Cayuga tends to be higher than the national average, but lower than the New York average (but close to New York's averages).
One statistic that stuck out with me is the ratio of population to primary care physicians. While the national average is 631:1, Cayuga County sticks out with a shocking 3,068:1 ratio. This really demonstrates a need in the county for primary care physicians, as demonstrated by percentages of preventable, harmful activities such as adult smokers and high excessive drinking percentages. They also have an unusually low rate of access to recreational facilities. While bringing primary care physicians into the area is important, I would suggest that improving recreational facilities and educational community facilities may help lower some higher rates of preventable risky behavior.
On another note, Cayuga County has an unusually high percentage of mammography screening, so clearly the primary care physicians in the area are doing their best in terms of prevention!
http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/new-york/2012/cayuga/county/1/overall
3,068:1 in terms of population to PCPs is definitely a shocking statistic. That is much higher than most counties I have reviewed. I think you also bring up an excellent point in regards to recreational facilities. It may be futile to recommend exercise to patients if they don't have access to quality facilities.
ReplyDeleteCayuga’s ratio of PCPs to the population is exceptionally high! The shortage of PCPs in NYS rural communities is a common theme in all of our blogs but your statistics are even more worrisome. Glad to know that the PCPs who are available are doing their best in terms of prevention. That’s good news. The PA model health centers with close supervision and rigorous training by MDs that we recently read about would seem to be helpful in an area such as this one. Dedicated health care providers in health centers can help to stimulate the recreational and educational programs geared toward better health that are sorely needed in your county.
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