Distribution of U.S. health professionals uneven

The distribution of healthcare workers continues to be quite uneven across the U.S., according to a new report from The Center for Health Workforce Studies (CHWS) at the University at Albany's School of Public Health. The report, which used data from 2004, found that New Hampshire had the highest number of nurses per capita in the U.S., at 1,283 per 100,000 residents, while California, in contrast, has only 588 nurses per 100,000. Researchers also noted that only 5 percent of the nation's RNs were minorities. When it comes to physicians, meanwhile, Massachusetts is way ahead, with 303 physicians per 100,000 residents, more than 50 percent over the national average. On the surface, these numbers did not appear to be directly correlated with health outcomes in their respective states-though there did appear to be a high concentration of elderly patients in the Northeast, impacting physician and nurse demand.

Get more information about health personnel distribution:
- read the university's release
- review the CHWS' 171-page report covering all major health professions (.pdf)