In 2003, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services designated over 90 percent of Nebraska’s counties (88 of 93) as Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas (MHPSAs).
Based on 2000 census data the population within these shortage areas exceeds 61 percent of the state’s total population. One facility, the Hastings Regional Center, has also been designated as an MHPSA.
This and other information is now available in the Nebraska Health Information Project: 2003 Databook. The Databook includes reports tailored to policymakers, administrators, advocates, educators and researchers and includes statistics on availability, cost and quality of health care in Nebraska, as well as information on potentially preventable hospitalizations.
According to Michael Shambaugh-Miller, Ph.D., UNMC instructor of preventive and societal medicine and director of the Health Information Project, the Databook is intended to help identify priorities for investing state dollars for the improvement of health care delivery in the state.
In 2001, 13.2 percent of total inpatient resident hospitalizations were due to conditions that can be classified as ambulatory care sensitive, or potentially preventable. And in 2001, just over 63 percent of preventable hospitalizations were for patients 65 years or older.
“The 2003 edition of the Databook provides updates of important date measuring the health of the state’s population and the responsiveness of its health care providers,” said Keith Mueller, Ph.D., UNMC professor of preventive and societal medicine. “While some of the indicators such as the leading causes of death are similar from year to year, the Databook shows that admissions to our hospitals are increasing for conditions that could have been treated effectively if addressed in a primary care setting. The Databook provides useful information to health officials in every county of the state, agencies that focus their programs on dealing with health care problems and to government officials.”
Since 1994, the Databook has been published every other year by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, in partnership with the Nebraska Center for Rural Health Research at UNMC.
The Databook includes the average length of stay in a hospital and average charge, number of licensed and certified health professionals, number and type of hospitals in Nebraska, insurance status of Nebraskans, health status of Nebraskans, and leading causes of death. Much of this information is reported at the state and county levels.
The 200-page Databook is organized into six chapters: demographics and geography, health professionals, health care facilities, insurance and health expenditures, health status and hospital discharges.
A CD-ROM of the Databook is available at the UNMC Bookstore for $15 (plus $5 shipping and handling). To purchase the CD-ROM, call (402) 559-4455.
In addition, for the first time ever, the entire 2003 Databook is available as a free, downloadable PDF document. Visit http://www.unmc.edu/nebraska to download the 2003 Databook and other publications from the Nebraska Health Information Project.