Medical Deserts

Medical Deserts

Medical Desert Definition: a populated region more than 60 minutes away from the nearest acute-care hospital.

Close to 1 in 5 Residential Areas in America don’t have access to an acute-care hospital.

Including areas in:
Detroit
Los Angeles
Washington DC

And large rural regions in:
Texas
Georgia
Mississippi

A total of 640 entire U.S. counties are medical deserts.

It’s a big deal
With rural communities already facing higher diabetes, heart problem, and cancer rates

Case Studies:

Coachella Valley, CA: [3]
Population: 346,518

1 doctor for every 1,653 residents in the eastern half of the valley
Now that several new clinics have opened.

It’s a medical desert, literally:
11.6% of Desert Hot Springs struggled to receive healthcare due to transportation
15.3% of residents couldn’t see a doctor because of office hours.

Contributing factors:
distance
sandstorms
wind

Belhaven, NC: [4]

It’s a matter of business:

2 Medical Centers owned by the same company
1 in Washington, NC
1 in Belhaven, NC

“Failing Hospitals” must be restructured.

The Belhaven location was gutted of medical equipment which gutted revenue
+
An administrator who visited once a week was on the payroll for 6 figures.
=
Hospital loses $1.8 million a year, a reason for the owning company to “consolidate” campuses.

and

A reason for the owning company to “consolidate” campuses
—A medical desert was created.

1 hour drive from edges of service area to Washington, NC hospital
1 hour= most critical time for stroke recovery

Rural clinics refer patients to larger facilities owned by the same companies

Make money: through referrals for large services
Cancer Treatment
Heart Surgery
Specialists
Don’t make money: by simply treating rural populations.

If you’re critically injured, SHOULD you have to drive for an hour to get medical care?

Citations:

1. http://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2013/11/13/more-hospitals-are-closing-and-its-creating-medical-deserts
2. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/27/us-rural-idUSTRE76Q0MJ20110727
3. http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/health/2014/05/18/coachella-valley-desert-hot-springs-doctor-shortages/9244159/
4. http://www.storyofamerica.org/belhaven1
5. http://www.teex.org/%5CESTI%5Cimages%5C090308-094216.jpg
6. http://www.ers.usda.gov/datafiles/Rural_Definitions/StateLevel_Maps/GA.pdf
7. http://www.ers.usda.gov/datafiles/Rural_Definitions/StateLevel_Maps/MS.pdf
8. http://www.census.gov/statab/ranks/rank18.html
9. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Belhaven,+NC/Washington,+NC/@35.5541577,-76.8369017,11z/data=!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x89af67c1c5ae3711:0x266e7f0eba0c506b!2m2!1d-76.6229874!2d35.5401653!1m5!1m1!1s0x89af1881e597ba25:0x71613f6c07ebb50!2m2!1d-77.0521742!2d35.5465517
10. http://www.gallup.com/poll/167798/uninsured-rate-continues-fall.aspx