Community Needs Assessment: Health

One nice thing about being on the board of TCA is the access to tons of data about the area. Every year they put together a comprehensive community needs assessment that contains charts, graphs, and stats on the county as a whole, particularly with regard to poverty. The figures derive from all kinds of places, from the U.S. Census to TCAD to the Housing Coalition. I'll post a few interesting stats from time to time. Here are today's.

In 2009, the number of uninsured persons in Tompkins County was 9,274, or 10.5 percent of the eligible population. That's a little under the 13 percent statewide or the 12 percent nationwide. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau) Births to teens in 2007 were 45, or about 5 percent of live births. (One of O's classmates just posted her sonogram.) Statewide, the percentage was closer to 7. That same year, only one new mother in the county received no prenatal care, and 3 percent received care only in the third trimester, compared to 5 percent statewide.

In Tompkins County, 8,251 people received Medicaid in 2010—about 81 per 1,000 population, or less than half the percentage statewide. As I've always contended, the county has a higher number of mental health professionals per 1,000 persons than the state as a whole (0.33 compared to 0.32), but our number of physicians and assistants lags behind the state average, at 2.68 per 1,000 compared to 3.99 per 1,000. We're behind in dentists and nurses too, but well ahead in physical, occupational, and especially massage therapists.

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