Matthew
01-18-2008, 09:45 AM
El Dorado County is one of California's wealthiest counties, with nearly 94 percent of the population covered by health insurance. But its residents also make more use hospital emergency rooms for non-urgent care, and the county trails the state and region in children's immunizations.
Those were among the findings of the 2008 Health Status Report released last Tuesday by the county Public Health Department.
In a presentation to the Board of Supervisors, Dr. Jason Eberhart-Phillips, county health officer, said the county's overall state of health is good. Among 43 health indicators, El Dorado County's ranking is better than the state and nearby counties in 17, at or near average in 15 and worse in 11.
This is the fifth and most comprehensive countywide health report the Public Health Department has produced over the past 10 years, Eberhart-Phillips said. It is based on the latest data drawn from a variety of sources, he said, explaining that the results "demand some caution and some interpretation."
But Eberhart-Phillips said the report will help the department decide where to direct limited resources.
In reviewing the report with the supervisors, he focused on areas where the county fared poorly.
Overall, he said, El Dorado is a wealthy county with the 11th highest per capita income among the state's 58 counties.
As of 2005, Eberhart-Phillips said, 93.7 percent of residents had health insurance coverage. But the relatively high use of hospital emergency rooms for non-urgent care indicates that people may not have access to medical care despite insurance. They may have insurance plans that don't provide sufficient coverage or that aren't accepted by local physicians, he said.
El Dorado County also ranked 46th in adequate use of prenatal care. "Within the past three reporting periods, the county's percent has steadily declined while the state's percent has increased," the report says.
Eberhart-Phillips said the problem may be lack of access, or women who have long commutes to work may have difficulty getting time off for medical appointments.
He also cited as a particular concern the percentage of kindergartners in public schools who have not received immunizations for diseases including whooping cough, measles and polio. State law requires the immunizations before entering school, but parents can request waivers for religious or medical reasons.
In El Dorado County, 84.8 percent of kindergartners in 2004-05 had received the immunizations compared with 92.9 percent statewide, 90.1 percent in Sacramento County, 90.6 percent in Placer County and 94.8 percent in Amador County.
The Public Health Department offers the immunizations at low cost, he said. But Eberhart-Phillips said some parents have done their own research and are suspicious of immunizations, despite what he described as "good science" supporting the vaccines' effectiveness.
That is unfortunate, he said, because the number of children in the county who have not been immunized is large enough to sustain an outbreak of the diseases.
"Also, we lack critical data from private schools and home schools," he said.
Other health indicators involve violent and abusive behavior. Although the county had a low homicide rate, the suicide rate was higher than average. For the three-year period of 2003-05, the suicide rate in El Dorado County was 14 per 100,000 population, compared with 9.2 statewide, 12.3 in Sacramento County and 11.5 in Placer County. The occurrence tends to be highest among white, middle-aged men, Eberhart-Phillips said.
El Dorado County also has seen rising rates of child abuse and neglect, and domestic violence, he said. The increases in both categories may be reflect improved reporting and investigation, Eberhart Phillips said.
The number of calls for assistance for domestic violence in 2004 was 5.5 per 1,000 population in El Dorado County compared with 5.1 statewide, 5.2 in Amador County, 2.9 in Placer County and 5.7 in Sacramento County.
The rate of substantiated child abuse for children birth to 17 years old was 12.1 per 1,000 children in El Dorado County, compared with 11.3 statewide, 10.3 in Placer County, 10.1 in Amador County and 17.1 in Sacramento County.
In the "unintentional injuries" category, Eberhart-Phillips said, "Motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of years of life lost for those under 65 in the county."
The crash-related death rate for 2003-05 was 14.5 per 100,000 population in El Dorado County, versus 11.7 statewide, 12.5 in Sacramento County and 12.3 in Placer County.
The Health Status Report is available on the county's Web site at Public Health (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.). Eberhart-Phillips said the document will be updated as new information becomes available.
Those were among the findings of the 2008 Health Status Report released last Tuesday by the county Public Health Department.
In a presentation to the Board of Supervisors, Dr. Jason Eberhart-Phillips, county health officer, said the county's overall state of health is good. Among 43 health indicators, El Dorado County's ranking is better than the state and nearby counties in 17, at or near average in 15 and worse in 11.
This is the fifth and most comprehensive countywide health report the Public Health Department has produced over the past 10 years, Eberhart-Phillips said. It is based on the latest data drawn from a variety of sources, he said, explaining that the results "demand some caution and some interpretation."
But Eberhart-Phillips said the report will help the department decide where to direct limited resources.
In reviewing the report with the supervisors, he focused on areas where the county fared poorly.
Overall, he said, El Dorado is a wealthy county with the 11th highest per capita income among the state's 58 counties.
As of 2005, Eberhart-Phillips said, 93.7 percent of residents had health insurance coverage. But the relatively high use of hospital emergency rooms for non-urgent care indicates that people may not have access to medical care despite insurance. They may have insurance plans that don't provide sufficient coverage or that aren't accepted by local physicians, he said.
El Dorado County also ranked 46th in adequate use of prenatal care. "Within the past three reporting periods, the county's percent has steadily declined while the state's percent has increased," the report says.
Eberhart-Phillips said the problem may be lack of access, or women who have long commutes to work may have difficulty getting time off for medical appointments.
He also cited as a particular concern the percentage of kindergartners in public schools who have not received immunizations for diseases including whooping cough, measles and polio. State law requires the immunizations before entering school, but parents can request waivers for religious or medical reasons.
In El Dorado County, 84.8 percent of kindergartners in 2004-05 had received the immunizations compared with 92.9 percent statewide, 90.1 percent in Sacramento County, 90.6 percent in Placer County and 94.8 percent in Amador County.
The Public Health Department offers the immunizations at low cost, he said. But Eberhart-Phillips said some parents have done their own research and are suspicious of immunizations, despite what he described as "good science" supporting the vaccines' effectiveness.
That is unfortunate, he said, because the number of children in the county who have not been immunized is large enough to sustain an outbreak of the diseases.
"Also, we lack critical data from private schools and home schools," he said.
Other health indicators involve violent and abusive behavior. Although the county had a low homicide rate, the suicide rate was higher than average. For the three-year period of 2003-05, the suicide rate in El Dorado County was 14 per 100,000 population, compared with 9.2 statewide, 12.3 in Sacramento County and 11.5 in Placer County. The occurrence tends to be highest among white, middle-aged men, Eberhart-Phillips said.
El Dorado County also has seen rising rates of child abuse and neglect, and domestic violence, he said. The increases in both categories may be reflect improved reporting and investigation, Eberhart Phillips said.
The number of calls for assistance for domestic violence in 2004 was 5.5 per 1,000 population in El Dorado County compared with 5.1 statewide, 5.2 in Amador County, 2.9 in Placer County and 5.7 in Sacramento County.
The rate of substantiated child abuse for children birth to 17 years old was 12.1 per 1,000 children in El Dorado County, compared with 11.3 statewide, 10.3 in Placer County, 10.1 in Amador County and 17.1 in Sacramento County.
In the "unintentional injuries" category, Eberhart-Phillips said, "Motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of years of life lost for those under 65 in the county."
The crash-related death rate for 2003-05 was 14.5 per 100,000 population in El Dorado County, versus 11.7 statewide, 12.5 in Sacramento County and 12.3 in Placer County.
The Health Status Report is available on the county's Web site at Public Health (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.). Eberhart-Phillips said the document will be updated as new information becomes available.