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(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
HOLYOKE - Community health care centers, in their outreach to under-served populations, as well as coordinated efforts to educate the public about the importance of annual physicals and active lifestyles, can help Hampden County address some of the factors that have ranked it as the least healthy county in the state (pdf), for five years, on an annual survey.
Rosa Rodriguez-Monguio, associate professor and director of the health policy and management program at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst School of Public Health, stated that message, and also urged attendees at the Hampden County Public Health Improvement Forum to work together to identify "one, two or three targets" and address them "one step at a time."
The county got the poorest ranking for such health behaviors as adult smoking, physical inactivity and excessive drinking.
"A public health approach to problems can improve outcomes, and contain costs," said Rodriquez-Monguio, who reviewed some of the most recent health statistics for the county and state. The survey, in which the county ranked last in the state, was a national one done by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Those attending the day-long forum Thursday at Holyoke Community College's Kittredge Center, co-sponsored by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, included legislators, health professionals and business executives, as well as insurance representatives.
Rodriguez-Monquio called the county's five year lowest ranking due to a number of factors. She said it is linked to the fact that the cost of health care continues to climb, with most people insured through their employers. She said many people cannot meet the cost of premiums, or the average $1,500 deductible, to access care. While 32 percent of the county's population earn more than $75,000, 18 percent earn between $50,000 and $75,000, with 50 percent under $50,000.
"It is a complex mix of things. It would be easier if you could identify one fact. There are multiple driving factors," Rodriguez-Monquio said. "Two key ones are access to health care, and to a primary team of caregivers."
Rodriguez-Monquio noted that 15 percent of county residents are Hispanic, 30 percent of its residents earn less than $25,000 a year, and that 5 percent of residents, ages 18 to 64, have no health insurance. Some 12 percent have no primary health care provider.
"This shows you the disparities in Hampden County," Rodriguez-Monguio said. She noted that county residents have a higher diagnosis for chronic diseases, such as diabetes. She said preventative care, and education about lifestyle, delivered in ways that are sensitive to cultural differences, can reduce health care costs involved in the treatment of such diseases.
Rodriguez-Monquio said community health care centers are key to helping individuals, who cannot afford the average $5,000 premium for health insurance, to access preventative care and education. She added provisions of the Affordable Care Act, which provides for some free health screenings, will increase demand for primary care.
"As a health economist, I can say it is always important to look at cost, but it is also important to look at outcomes," Rodriguez-Monquio said.