A synopsis of the 170-page 2010 Health Needs Assessment was presented to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
County Health Services Department Director Jim Brown along with Public Health Officer Karen Tait and officials with St. Helena Hospital Clearlake and Sutter Lakeside Hospital offered the findings to the board.
The assessment is meant to present an overview of the state of health-related needs and benchmarks from which to gauge progress, which can help health care organizations improve community health and maximizing resources, according to a report from the group of health care agencies and groups that collaborated on the report.
Brown told the board that the last comprehensive assessment was completed in 2002. He credited St. Helena Hospital Clearlake with taking the lead on the project in 2009 and making it happen.
The report included a comprehensive assessment of primary data that came, in part, from 869 surveys and six community focus groups.
The data showed that 21 percent of Lake County's population is over age 65, compared with an 11.3 percent over-65 population across the rest of the state as a whole.
In Lake County, that group is expected to grow more, which the report suggested “will put a larger burden on the health care system and local economy, which may not have sufficient community services or tax base to support it.”
The overall population, now around 65,000, also is expected to increase by 45 percent by the year 2050.
In 2008, four in 10 Lake County households lacked enough income to cover “bare bones” living expenses, while one-third of the population was reported to be “food insecure,” the report said. In 2009, two-thirds of students were receiving free-reduced price lunches.
In addition, Lake County has the highest percentage of seniors covered by a combination of Medicare and Medi-Cal in the northern and Sierra Counties region, and the second lowest percentage of seniors that have private supplemental coverage in addition to Medicare.
Lake County’s high school dropout rate rose 5 percentage points from 2005 to 2008, rising to 16.7 percent, similar to that of the state rate, the report found. In general, dropout rates among Hispanic, African American and Native American students in Lake County were higher than the overall county rate.
Some statistics of concern involved smoking.
In Lake County, 17 percent of youth ages 12 to 17 reported that they smoke, compared to 4.8 percent of youth in the same age group statewide. Among adults, 14.5 percent statewide reported being smokers, compared to 25.9 percent in Lake County.
Compared to other Californians, Lake County residents are more likely to have annual dental visits for children, are less likely to die from diabetes and also are less likely to die from female breast cancer, the assessment found.
However, when compared to other Californians, Lake County residents are more likely to be obese and be an adult arrested for alcohol violations.
The assessment identified four key areas of focus for health partners in the years ahead, including preventive health, senior support services, substance use and abuse, and community-based mental health services.
The Community Health Needs Assessment was conducted by Barbara Aved and Associates and a partnership of the The Lake County Collaborative of Health Organizations and Funders, which includes representatives from St. Helena Hospital Clearlake, Sutter Lakeside Hospital, Lake County Public Health, First 5 Lake County, Lake Family Resource Center, Lake Country Tribal Health Consortium, United Way of the Wine Country, Mendocino Community Health Clinic, Inc., Lake County Mental Health, Health Leadership Network and the Area Agency on Aging.
The Lake County Community Health Needs Assessment can be found at http://health.co.lake.ca.us.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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