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Laura Pitlik went to the emergency room three times after she passed out while standing, fearing she was having a heart attack.
When doctors at nearby Marietta Hospital, where she lives, still couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her on their third visit, they insisted on referring her to a hospital in Columbus.
At the end of the nearly 130-mile drive, Pitlik found an answer to a medical mystery and was able to relax. That was 15 years ago, but Pitlik, now 63, wishes local doctors were more familiar with similar conditions today.
“I was diagnosed right away in Columbus,” a common disease that causes a sudden drop in heart rate and blood pressure that can lead to fainting, and was later cured with medication. “The doctors here didn’t know about it.”
A recent study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that lack of access to quality health care, like Pitlik’s experience, can shorten the life expectancy of rural residents.
Study finds that the death rate for prime-age working-age people (25-54) living in rural America was 43% higher in 2019 than in urban areas, widening from a 6% difference in 1999. did.
Ohio’s Appalachian region spans 32 counties, approximately 16,000 square miles from the Cincinnati state line to the Cleveland state line, and is home to approximately 1.9 million people.
People living in these rural areas are more likely to die from heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease and stroke than those living in urban areas, the report found.
Babies delivered in cars: Lack of obstetric care in rural Ohio affects nearly 100,000 women
The study found that the availability of clinics, hospitals, and emergency rooms varies by population, and rural areas with small populations may not be able to financially support quality health care services. As a result, too many rural hospitals are closing because they can’t cover their costs, experts say.
Since 2005, 192 local hospitals have closed or converted services to outpatient care or other models, according to the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
An additional 600 local hospitals are at risk of closure, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit think tank.
Tom Campanella, a health care administration executive at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio, and others have been sounding the alarm for years about this “medical crisis” in rural areas.
“It seems like we’re still sleeping as we navigate this local health crisis. … I hope this is a wake-up call,” he said of the study.
Why do rural Ohioans die earlier than others?
Dr. Lucy Butcher, an obstetrician-gynecologist and vice president of clinical affairs at OhioHealth Obrenes Hospital in Athens, said her patients are feeling worse than ever.
“This is shocking because we are really targeting the younger generation,” she said. “They say there’s been a big change in mortality, but it’s actually gone down to a range from the mid-20s to the mid-50s.”
Butcher has seen first-hand how chronic diseases often affect patients, and as the population’s health deteriorates during the COVID-19 pandemic, offices are forced to work to prevent the spread of the disease. It has been closed and many residents believe it has delayed medical care.
Shay Sanchez, 45, isn’t surprised that people in rural America don’t live as long. Sanchez has lived in rural Athens County for 10 years and works for a group that funds health nonprofits in rural Ohio and West Virginia.
Too many people put off going to the doctor because they don’t have the money and think their concerns are minor, she says, but the same problems can lead to more serious health conditions later on. They may also have to make difficult choices between putting food on the table and paying for gas to get to the doctor, she says.
Sanchez said the rural lifestyle can be overall unhealthy because there is less access to places for physical activity, such as safe places to walk and healthy food. He also says people living in rural America are more likely to smoke, be obese, and not have a primary care physician.
Additionally, telemedicine, which has expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, may not be an option for many rural residents without access to broadband internet.
According to the report, people with poor health are more likely to work fewer days, be less productive at work, and have a lower quality of life overall, and the impact is more pronounced than their personal health. It is also said to be large.
What can be done about rural mortality disparities in Ohio?
Community health workers like Mariah Sharp, who works at OhioHealth’s Kastrup Health Center in Athens, can play an important role in improving the health outcomes of people in rural Ohio, Campanella says. he said.
They are often trusted in the communities where they live and work and can contribute to improving the health care and quality of life of other residents, he said.
“We’re like neighbors or friends or distant family members who have done this 1,000 times,” Sharp said. “We know how to provide resources and services quickly and are here to engage or disengage depending on your needs.”
Sharp helps patients access resources such as food, transportation, and supplies needed to care for their newborns.
“We’re just trying to bridge all of those gaps,” she said, adding that new parents can talk about safe sleep and help them access clothing, bottles, blankets and car seats. Ta. She said: “We need to do everything we can to ensure the safety of mothers and babies.”
But there are some things the Athens health center can’t do, such as helping people with heart or maternal fetal medical problems, she said, making it difficult for many southeast Ohio residents to travel to Columbus. .
Campanella said one possible solution to the mortality disparity is cooperation between governments and medical companies.
For example, Memorial Health System in Marietta announced in July that it would build Southeast Ohio’s only women’s and children’s hospital with $30 million in state funding as part of a partnership with Akron Children’s Hospital.
The announcement comes on the heels of many maternity units in Ohio closing.
Opening a rural hospital: Marietta Health System opens women’s and children’s hospital thanks to $30 million in state funding
Campanella said federally qualified health centers, established with federal funding to care for underserved populations, also need to be expanded and expand their services. . Telehealth services need to be made more accessible.
Additionally, since doctors often stay in the places where they received their training, there is a need to increase training for doctors in rural areas.
Campanella said people should be angry about the disparity in death rates and demand action.
“The sad thing is that it’s not only not getting better, it’s actually getting worse,” he says. “These are people who have been ignored for a long time.”
dking@dispatch.com
@DanaeKing
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