Public Health Trends in Baker County
Oregon
The rural community of Baker County,
Oregon is an ideal place to live if you are looking for a scenic life style
away from the busyness of the modern Metropolis. This agricultural based community of around
15,000 people has been my home since birth.
The carefree community is known for its quiet atmosphere and seclusion
from other “big city” problems. As I
consulted with Jon Schott, MD, Health Officer for the Baker County Health
Clinic, and looked over data that had been collected for this county and the
entire state of Oregon, a different conclusion might be seen. Despite a more relaxing lifestyle, Baker
County might not be the most problem free county in Oregon. In fact, it currently ranks 33rd
in Oregon. There were thirty-three
counties examined, and three that information was not available for. There are many trends that are pressing
matters in Baker County, including but not limited to: premature death, hindrances to seeing
a medical care provider, low birth weight, income/children in poverty, and
college education.
Premature Death- This rate is almost
staggering among the Oregon health statistics.
A graph on www.countyhealthrankingsandroadmaps.org shows that the Premature Death in
Baker County is on the rise, as to the opposite overall for the state of Oregon
and the United states as a whole. From 2005-2009 the Years of Potential Life
Lost went up from 8,000 (age-adjusted YPLL per 100,000 People) to over 10,000
while in Oregon and the United States in general the YPLL went down by almost
2,000. Out of 261 deaths measured there was an estimated 10,322 YPLL Rate. Due high rates of smoking, alcohol, low
income, unemployment, lack of education and access to medical care, Baker
County has a high YPLL. While conversing with Jon Schott he was able to inform
me that in Baker County, “premature death especially is related to cancer
related deaths and cardiovascular deaths that correspond to those issues.”
Hindrances to seeing a medical
provider- There are many reasons for people not choosing or not being able to
see a medical care professional. These may include expenses, lack of insurance,
transportation, income, or even, lack of health care providers. Jon Schott described Baker County in this way,
“We are medically underserved, and recruiting providers here is really hard for
multiple reasons so we have a federal and state designation that reflects that.
In fact we are one of just a few areas
in the state designated as a 'frontier site' which reflects how underserved we
are, as well as how geographically remote we are.” Baker County currently ranks
20th out of 33 counties reported for accessibility to care and 23rd
for quality of care. Other contributing factors specific to Baker County
include excessively high unemployment rates (+1% above Oregon’s Average of 9.5%),
and children in poverty rates (33%). This Illustrates one of the pressing
concerns in Baker County. Of the people surveyed 21% could not see the doctor
due to the cost, that is 1 out of every 5 people, and we live in the country
that single handedly spends the most money on medical care per year compared to
all other nations.
Low birth weight- Baker County over
the last few years according to the data has a very high percentage of low
birth weight births. Even to the number of 8.6% of births are Low birth weight
births. This number is well above the
Oregon average and when I asked Jon Schott to expound on the subject he
explained that, “ The low birth weight babies is a little misleading in that we
have a state drug treatment program for ladies, a fair percentage have babies
while here and due to drug use naturally have more complications. Other than that there shouldn't be such a
huge variance there.” Even with this state drug treatment program, the
individuals still live in Baker Country and are accounted for in the
statistics. Low birth weight, like all the other health trends in Baker County,
is related to the others. Each has some type of affect upon the others, and
therefore the causes of these concerns are commonly similar.
Income and poverty among children-
This is a concerning Public Health matter in Baker County, the unemployment rate
exceeds the Oregon Average but is not the highest in Oregon. Although Baker County
ranks high in this area there are still areas with higher unemployment rates.
The lack of income will affect all aspects of the person’s health. Medical care
visitation, nutrition, exercise, quality of medical care, insurance, and mental
health will all be affected due to low income. In Baker County with
unemployment above average, this puts the average income at around $36,877. The
Oregon average is $46,876. Another driving force to income and Poverty among
children is high housing costs. Baker County ranks 31st out of 33
counties surveyed for highest housing costs. 33% of children in Baker Country
are raised in what is classified as a “poverty situation” due to low income and
unemployment. I was interested in this rate and asked Dr. Schott if the data
was correct or was it tainted in some way. He replied very simply, “I think the
data is accurate and didn't surprise us much”. Indeed showing that this is not
something new to him or the people of Baker County.
College Education- It is proven time
and time again; health is increased in a population as the education is
increased. Educated individuals know what is healthy, what practices are not, and
how to better their own environment. In turn others will learn from them and a
more health educated atmosphere will be established. The Average Freshmen
Graduation Rate (AFGR) for Baker County is sitting at 61, well below the
average for the State of Oregon (68).
When surveyed Baker County showed that 56.4% of people had some type of
post-secondary education. This is in the bottom 10% of counties in Oregon, as
the average for the State is 65.1%.
This quiet rural County in Oregon has
its challenges and its own unique Public Health trends. Although the overall
ranking of Baker County was last in Oregon, Baker County scored in the top five
and many instances was scored best in Oregon in many categories including all
aspects of physical environment. Daily
fine particulate matter, drinking water safety, access to recreational
facilities, access to healthy foods, low number of fast food restaurants, and a
low violent crime rate were a few of the areas that Baker County scored
extremely well in. Just as every area of
the world, each faces unique challenges, Baker County is no exception. Premature death, hindrances to
obtaining health care, low birth weight, income/children in poverty, and
college education are pressing matters within Baker County. Dr. Schott ended by
saying, “A big part of what this report reflects is that we have in general poor
determinants in Baker County”. Although free of “big city” problems, it does
not have the accessibility to all opportunities like more populated areas do in
the State of Oregon.
Works Cited
·
Jon Schott, MD, Health Officer, (541)
523-1001,jschott@eoma.net.
·
Baker County Health Department (541) 523-8211,
FAX (541) 523-8242 3330 Pocahontas Road, Baker City, OR 97814
·
http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/oregon/2013/baker/county/outcomes/overall/snapshot/by-rank
·
Microsoft Excel document, A collaboration of the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Heath
Institute
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