Health Care Hard to Come By for Rural Residents
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
One-third of Arkansas residents are having to go the extra mile for health care.
A new study, by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, says that is because one-third of Arkansas residents live in rural counties -- and doctors and hospitals in those counties are few and far between.
The study says there is only one doctor to every 1,058 rural residents.
For example, residents in Prairie or Monroe counties are sent to either Forrest City or Stuttgart for ER visits.
Many others are sent to hospitals in Little Rock.
"I really consider most of my patients sicker than a lot of other patients," explained Dr. Troy Moore, DeValls Bluff Health Center. "The reason being, #1, poverty. They don`t have insurance, they don`t have access."
The study also says rural counties are disproportionately poorer than non-rural counties.
Mid-Delta Health Systems says only 5% of their patients are privately insured.
Over 50% have none at all, the rest are on Medicare or Medicaid.
