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Why we should care about
Quality Health Care & Access
# of Doctors Shortage per 10,000 residents
Access to Care:
We are short 1,008 doctors and physicians statewide. We need to look at our state's cost of living, affordable housing, and access to quality education to continue to increase the number of physicians statewide and ensure proper access to care.
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67%
of adults in Hawaii with any mental illness did not receive treatment
71%
of youth in Hawaii with a Major Depressive Episode did not receive mental health services
380:1
Mental Health Workforce availability
Mental Health:
Since the start of the pandemic, adults who experienced anxiety or depression increased from 10% to 40%. While telehealth has changed access to care, 37% of our population still lives in a mental health professional shortage area. We also have the highest rate of homelessness in the US, where it is estimated that 25% of our homeless population has a serious mental illness and 45% has any mental illness.
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One of the biggest challenges of growing a strong, diverse mental health workforce is low provider reimbursement. In a field that requires high levels of education and certification, this hurts the diversity of providers available.
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42%
of adults in Hawaii has prediabetes
13%
of adults in Hawaii has diabetes
$90K
annual per patient average cost for dialysis treatment
Hawaii
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United States
Diabetes:
At 13% of our adult population, Hawaii has the 23rd highest rate of type II diabetes in the nation. Diabetes is the primary cause of kidney failure, where the treatment costs approximately $90,000 per patient per year. This cost impacts everyone, not just those on dialysis, as it impacts our health care costs and model statewide. We need to educate our keiki on nutrition, the impact of Sugar Sweetened Beverages, and steps we can take to avoid type II diabetes.
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Relevant Experience
Kaiser Permanente, Director (Full-time)
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Worked closely with clients and members to understand challenges of not only the affordability of health care, but also access to quality care
Let's Talk Story
I'd love to hear your ideas and thoughts on this topic.
Please email me at valerie@valeriecwang.com.