Healthcare Considerations : The City Of Groesbeck Houses The County Hospital, Limestone Medical Center, And It

The study revealed several issues in this department. Voluntary emergency patients have to wait extended periods of time before being transferred to the appropriate department. The majority of those who have to wait are those seeking mental health assistance. Keeping people in the emergency department longer than necessary cause operational costs skyrocket, and worse, keeps the needs of patients from properly being met.

| WEAKENSSES: * financial support and available funding * reputation of services as such mistreating patients * lack of access to technology in these areas * management or staff availability * lower income areas * undifferentiated service lines

Despite the countless advanced in technology and the abundance of health care organization popping up all over the place, whether they are free standing clinics, hospitals, urgent cares or etc, many people still lack the ability to receive quality health care. This has become a concern throughout the world, but especially a more vocal concern for residents of the United States in the past few years. In this paper we will discuss the reasons preventing access to quality health care and how we can overcome the many obstacles that stand in our way to provide quality health care to many who lack it today.

(Mann, 2014, p.2) These strategies include: broadening access to primary care services; focus on individuals who frequently utilize the emergency department (super-utilizers); and targeting the needs of individuals with behavioral health problems. (Mann, 2014, pp 2-4) Many resources and processes have been implemented in order to help decrease inappropriate emergency department visits. This paper is going to demonstrate some resources and processes that are in place to help individuals obtain health care at the appropriate health care setting.

Healthy communities depend on the promotion of collaboration between health care providers, equitable utilization of health care resources and access to care for disease prevention. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has increased access to insurance, but has not necessarily contributed to increased access to care (Lane et al., 2012). Limited access to health care and insurance, along with socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual identity, and age contribute to health care disparities in the United States ("Disparities," 2014). The Appalachian Region has many factors that increase the risk of health disparities among this population, including poverty, unemployment, limited access to care,

For example, for more than two years I worked in admitting and as a scribe in the Emergency Department of St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, WA. Downtown Bellingham is considered a Medically Underserved Area by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services due to the growing homeless population. Many of these individuals struggle to establish with a primary care provider and instead seek frequent treatment through the emergency department.

Within the United States some populations groups face greater challenges then the general public with being able to access needed health care services in a timely fashion. These populations are at a greater risk for poor physical, psychological, and social health. The correct term would be underserved populations or medically disadvantaged. They are at a disadvantaged for many reason such as socioeconomic status, health, and geographic conditions. Within these groups are the racial and ethnic minorities, uninsured children, women, rural area residents, mentally ill, chronic illness and the disabled. These groups experience greater barriers in access to care, financing of care, and cultural acceptance. Addressing these

Another threat is the current state of rural hospitals nationwide. According to the case study, about 25% of Americans live in rural areas and only about 10% of physicians actually practice in rural areas. There is a 15% gap in the ratio of rural citizens to available practicing physicians. This is a threat to ELH’s need to attract and hire more physicians. In relation to rural hospitals, citizens have longer drive times to their medical facilities. This causes them to delay routine visits which subsequently exacerbates

Every individual in the world deserves to enjoy health and wellness. Maintaining or achieving proper health needs enables individuals to be productive at work and leisure. Traditionally, many people have had barriers obtaining adequate healthcare due to economic constraints or personal inconveniences. Despite impressive technological advances in medicine, the challenge of delivering quality healthcare to the Americans continues to be debated amongst the nation’s political and healthcare leaders. The aging baby-boomers and the increased number of uninsured people add to the equation of population growth which results in limited access to primary healthcare for the entire public. On the

According to Official Code of Georgia Health Planning Statue Title 31, Chapter 6 established by the General Assembly in 1979, The Georgia Department of Community Health, Office of Health Planning is responsible for administering the Certificate of Need Program (CON), which evaluates the proposals for new or expanded health care services or facilities. Certificate of Need was implemented to determine the need for a new or expanded health care services or facility to ensure the availability of health care services to meet the need of Georgia residents while preventing the unnecessary duplication of services that increase the cost of health care services. In 2010 Georgia Assembly amended the Georgia code to include Georgia Code 31-6-40 which defined the following institutional health services that require a CON. These institutional health services include;

Obesity in adults has reached 22.8% and children sit at 14.8% (Glendale, Arizona, 2016). Air pollution in Glendale is rated at 234 and when compared with the U.S. average of 74, this is a very significant issue (Glendale, Arizona, 2016). The air quality affects everyone but is particularly hard on people with asthma or other respiratory conditions. Illegal drug use and abuse of prescription drugs is rampant among all ages in the state with ratings higher than the national average in both (The NSDUH Report, 2012). The lack of mental health care is also a problem. Two of the larger hospitals have a small mental health facility attached. There is only one adolescent facility in the area. I work in a psych hospital in an adjoining city and we frequently have to send children and adolescents to out of state locations if they require more than short term acute

During which, I learned that several communities in this vicinity were lacking appropriate health care options. While investigating what needs I could fulfill, I found information about an organization called Remote Area Medical (RAM). After researching the services offered, I promptly joined the organization. Without volunteers to operate the free clinic services, many individuals would suffer medical conditions without recognition or treatment putting the health of the community at risk. The most valuable concept that I learned is the state of health is not measured by individual situations alone, but also measured as a whole, and collaborative efforts of all community members are needed to maintain community health3.

There are problems in cities too regarding healthcare access. Access such as emergency services, diagnostic equipment and medical specialist are problematic (Soroka,

With many living in poverty and on unemployment whether by choice or due to lack of insurance, the crime rates rise also leading to risky behaviors. These risky behaviors sometimes end up leading to the emergency room settings. This increases the cost of health care with no primary care physician available.

Examples of this would be not having access to a vehicle or public transportation if the nearest hospital is located farther away from the home, no cellular device to remind them of important appointment dates and other find it very difficult to wait in long lines to receive services that are offered to them.