Health care is very essential for the economic growth of any nation, seeing as healthy workforce translates to improved outputs. Students are expected to carry out practical work in the field of medicine in order to contribute to the pool of professionals and so as to ensure maximum provision of health care services. In this paper, I will discuss the demographics, number and type of healthcare facilities and the role of the public health care systems of the community in Gurnee Illinois, my practice location.
Demographics of the community
The state of IIIinois has 1,365 cities. Out of these, Gurnee is the 63rd in terms of population with 38,523. The city is dominated by three major ethnic/racial groups, with Whites at 65%, Hispanic at 12.1% and Asian at 11.1% of the total population. The poverty level in Gurnee is relatively low, estimated at 4.7%. The population is majorly middle aged with median age standing at 37.12 years. The number of men is slightly lower than that of women. Men population stands at 18,546 while that of women stands at 19,977. White Collar employment is higher at 13,827 compared to Blue Collar which is at 10,015. There are a total of 14,232 households in Gurnee with family households at 27.7 % and non-family households at 72.3%. The population is well educated with number of bachelor of degree holders at 35.3%, graduate degree at 20.9%, associate degree at 10%, some college at 26.5% and a low number with no high school education (Anderson, 2015).
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Number and type of healthcare facilities in the community
There are a number of health care facilities in this location ranging from small to relatively large heath care centers which provide the necessary health services to the community. Currently the U.S Department of Health is working extensively to minimize the related costs in the whole health care system in these centers to make them more reliable and affordable to patients.
Three of the major known health care centers are Aurora Health Center, Advocate Condell Immediate Care Center and The Children’s Health Center. Twenty five family care physicians are found in this city. These physicians have practiced medicine for over twenty three years. Other outpatient facilities include two urgent care centers and ten walk-in clinics (Baird, 2014). There are fifteen nursing homes. Programs are put in place to ensure nurses advance their knowledge for better service provision. The services they offer today are far much better than those offered some years ago (Algire & Martyn 2013).The number of pharmacies has been increasing daily and now stands at more than fifty accredited pharmacies within the community. The pharmacists are authorized by the regulating and authorizing bodies to ensure proper prescription. Non-traditional facilities that are well established are ten in number.
Role of the public health care system in the community
Health resources are decreasing globally even with an increasing risk of contraction of new diseases. Several cases of deaths have been reported in the United States due to inappropriate medical procedures. Public health systems need therefore to be strengthened. The health leaders of the international community have to be focused more on strategizing planning and implementation of public health procedures. These systems have numerous roles to play in the community.
The health care system of Gurnee IL preserves and improves access of healthcare services. It also ensures comprehensive service delivery by coordinating effectively the involved players. Decision making is important in any organization or community. The healthcare system of Gurnee IL ensures shared decision making by engaging all stake holders and promoting personal responsibility. The system in the community plays are role in implementation of evidence based public health programs and actions. Public health care system plays major role in detection of infectious infections, their relevant prevention and eradication measures for healthy living conditions of a population. Health information is very important for any community. The system is responsible for offering such information and other vital information to the community as well as health promotion.
Non-communicable diseases are known to be dangerous since they are mostly chronic, taking effect progressively till they cause severe harm to the affected. There is therefore need to make sure that the risk factors for these diseases are controlled, a role played by the community health system. Environmental health is equally important in any community setting. In fact the general performance of workers greatly depends on the health of the surroundings. The health system helps in maintaining a healthy environment through education. (Bloland. et al., 2012)
Another important role played by the healthcare system is strengthening of infrastructure and institutions which are important to public health. Laboratory networks are equally important in provision of healthcare. This is a role attached to the system in the community as well. Another role of the health system of Gurnee IL is ensuring capable and skilled workforce is available. This is usually done by institutions which are closely monitored and guided by the regulations set by health system (At rash & Carpentier 2012). Health care systems have more than just enough roles to play in a community to ensure a healthy population.
Conclusion
The health sector is doing a lot to see that lives of people are protected through establishment of many health institutions and medical centers. The pool of professionals is projected to increase and therefore increasing the ratio of health professionals to that of patients. Several centers have been put in place. The future of the medical field entirely depends on the commitment of the various stakeholders. The roles of the healthcare systems need to be clearly defined resources made available to ensure proper functioning. Students need also to be ready to practice with precision and accuracy to make sure they become responsible and knowledgeable professionals in the future.
References
Algire, M., & Martyn, D. (2013). Enhancing emergency nurses’ knowledge of veterans’ health needs. Journal of Emergency Nursing , 39 (6), 570-575.
Anderson, M. J. (2015). The American census: A social history . Yale University Press.
Atrash, K., & Carpentier, R. (2012). The evolving role of public health in the delivery of health care. Revista brasileira de crescimento e desenvolvimento humano , 22 (3), 396-399.
Baird, K. (2014). Customer service in health care: A grassroots approach to creating a culture of service excellence . John Wiley & Sons.
Bloland, P., Simone, P., Burkholder, B., Slutsker, L., & De Cock, K. M. (2012). The role of public health institutions in global health system strengthening efforts: the US CDC's perspective. PLoS Med , 9 (4), e1001199.
