Emily Todd
Public Health Trends in Klamath Falls, Oregon
- Access to health care. Klamath Falls is socioeconomically challenged and under served . There are two specific problems here—shortage of providers and people cannot afford to see them. Since of the socioeconomic status of the city, it is hard to attract doctors. In addition, some are very qualified doctors while others are not. Secondly, up to half of the patients have government assistance to pay for coverage while the other half has Medicaid and Medicare.
- Tobacco abuse. Being a cancer specialist, Doug sees many cancers related to tobacco use. He stresses that prevention is the most important thing to do. He also noted that this is a problem with many age groups and each gender—sees kids addicted to chew and even pregnant women who can’t give it up.
- Drug abuse. There is a huge methamphetamine problem in Klamath Falls. Drugs are cheap and readily available. There is such a strong physical and mental addiction that it is hard to combat such a huge problem. Doug stresses again that prevention is the best option, especially to target the younger and rising generation.
- Diabetes. This is because of the growing rate of obesity in the U.S. and Klamath Falls is not exempt to the trend. Doug stresses that diabetes is a pandemic and a problem everywhere. Exercise and dieting is how to combat problem, but more importantly prevention and education of risk factors.
- Skin Cancer. Skin cancer is much more prevalent in recent years in Klamath Falls as people spend time outside unprotected. In addition to skin cancer, more cancers are increasing in prevalence. Doug says this could be because many cancers have no risk factors and people just disregard them. One way that this could be helped is by informing public about importance about getting screened/checked/etc.
Dr. Douglas Todd, M.D. Orthopedic Surgery, Otolaryngology
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