My health system’s primary service area covers 6 counties in SE Ohio and 1 county in western WV.

Healthcare Disparities

My health system’s primary service area covers 6 counties in SE Ohio and 1 county in western WV. For county health rankings, of the counties in OH, 4 are ranked in the bottom 8 of all 88 OH counties (81, 83, 84, 85) and as far as WV is concerned, it sits roughly in the middle. The top health outcomes for the area are drug overdose deaths/substance abuse issues, chronic disease (obesity, heart disease, diabetes), and depression. 

The top 5 priority health factors that affect the community are:

Poverty/economic security

Service area has a higher rate of poverty amongst children, seniors, and female HoH than both states overall.

Benefit cliff dilemmas

Lack of health insurance

Despite a high Medicaid/Medicare prevalence, many residents do not elect healthcare coverage due to expense

Local access to healthcare

Transportation barrier for marginalized subsets of the population

Lack of specialists causing those to seek care outside of the region

Nutrition & access to healthy foods

Limited availability 

Unmet need for mental health care

Limited or lack of providers

Taboo of seeking mental healthcare

Given that it’s the primary source of care in the area, I wouldn’t say that it creates disparities, so to speak. A limited number of patient shuttles are available within a small radius, but the feasibility of increasing was assessed and has not yet been initiated. This is an issue due to a lack/limited public transportation and no ride-sharing in the area (such as Uber/Lyft-only a few local taxis). The community lacks or has limited access to reliable, high-speed internet. While telehealth has widely expanded access to healthcare providers, especially as of late, this is of particular concern to those in rural areas unable to bridge the closing gaps in care. For example, two of the counties had incredibly high percentages of households without reliable internet (69.9% & 80.2%), while the others were all at least over 50%. A school-based telehealth program was implemented with plans to expand. An extension of hours provided at clinics would help to expand access for those unable to make it to the hospitals. I think the biggest issue in the area is substance abuse and mental health treatment. Population Health has started efforts, but this remains one of the more considerable hurdles for our region.