Northwest Florida Health Council

Currently growing at a moderate rate, Northwest Florida's population includes four percent of the State's population. Younger than the state as a whole, the highest growth rates are among those older than age 65.

Although unemployment rates are below the state average, a large segment of household income is in the service sector; approximately 14.8 percent live in poverty and 70,000 are Medicaid eligible.

Regional challenges include:
• an increasingly elderly population
• coastal development
• the effect of environmental changes
• the need for economic diversification and development
• stress between the rural and metropolitan ends of two counties

Residents health is similar to that of people statewide. However, the same major causes of death--heart disease, cancer, stroke, lung disease--prevail at higher rates throughout the district and exceed Healthy People 2000 objectives.

Uniquely, each county in our district has initiated some process to assess residents' health status, with an emphasis on understanding risk factors, how well individuals attempt to maintain their wellness, and whether resources are sufficient to meet health needs.

As the number of elderly people has increased (22% district wide 1992-1996 compared to nine percent statewide) so has the utilization of long-term care, comprehensive medical rehabilitation, and skilled nursing services.

Our ongoing projects include:
• Environmental health component of health plan regarding water quality issues
• Technical assistance and support of health promotion and wellness projects such as the Tobacco free Coalition and the Healthy Kids Program
• Developing concise county profiles
• Five year trend analysis of nursing home utilization
• Assessment of primary care and emergency room utilization
• Health and wellness newsletter and consumer brochures
• HIV/AIDS projects including conference planning and sponsorship; grant writing; peer review; development of Ryan White Title III program to provide comprehensive care for persons living with HIV/AIDS; and HIV prevention planning and needs assessment activities.
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