Healthcare Roundup—The impact of ‘place’ on health status; Utah ER sees electric scooter-linked visits skyrocket

Report: The impact of ‘place’ on health status

Minority communities are more likely than largely white communities to have poor health, but a new report suggests those findings have more to do with location than race.

The unhealthiest communities face geographic access problems, issues with pollution and inadequate housing, according to the analysis from Aetna and U.S. News & World Report. These are factors beyond a resident’s control, regardless of race.

For instance, the report compared Mason and Putnam Counties in West Virginia, both of which are about 97% white. Mason residents, however, have a shorter life expectancy by nearly two years. Putnam, by comparison, has better schools, a better economy and spends more on public safety—all likely contributing factors to better health.

That said, racial disparities can highlight these issues and provide policymakers with a road map to change, the report said. (U.S. News & World Report)

Utah ER sees 160% increase in electric scooter-linked visits

Electric scooters are proliferating as a transportation option in cities across the country, and the University of Utah Health’s emergency department in Salt Lake City has seen a corresponding spike in visits linked to these scooters.

Between June and September 2017, the hospital’s ED saw eight patients injured by scooters, likely those owned for personal use and not by ride-sharing companies. Since electric scooters have been made available in the city, beginning in June, the ER has seen 21 visits linked to them, an increase of 161%.

“It’s worth noting that these were only emergency department visits,” Troy Madsen, M.D., an emergency physician at the hospital, said. “Patients with more minor injuries may have gone to urgent care, and the patients we saw were likely those with more significant injuries who required a higher level of care in an emergency department.” (The Salt Lake Tribune)

Ken Burns releases Mayo Clinic documentary

Filmmaker Ken Burns has followed up his 18-hour documentary on the Vietnam War with a look into the history of Mayo Clinic.

Burns himself is a former Mayo patient, which inspired his choice of subject matter. The two-hour documentary, “The Mayo Clinic: Faith, Hope, Science,” begins with the system’s founding in 1883 and follows through to the present day.

“The Mayo is just a quintessentially American story, just as baseball is a quintessentially American subject, as are the national parks, the Civil War,” Burns said. “And this was a story firing on all cylinders.” (The Associated Press)