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Arkansas needs
more health care workers!
Along with the beautiful Boston and Ozark Mountains, the
bountiful rice fields, and valleys of rich farm land, Arkansas has its share of
health problems. These health-related medical problems include:
•Poor access to medical care for
people who do not have health insurance
•Lack of transportation to
physicians, dentists, and other health care providers
•Insufficient services for new
mothers and children
•Limited medical services for
the chronically ill and elderly, particularly those who are
poor and uninsured
•Lack of health promotion and
disease prevention education
•High teenage pregnancy rates
•Inappropriate use of hospital
emergency rooms for regular primary care services
Click to view a
directory of HPSA maps
or visit the
Bureau of Health Professions, Health Professional Shortage Areas
website.
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What does
“HPSA” mean?
Generally speaking, a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA)
is designated if there is a lack of adequate specialty distribution of health
care professionals in that area to meet the population’s need for health care
services. Arkansas’s Health Professional Shortage Areas are determined by the
Arkansas Department of Health. Arkansas currently has 56 designated Health
Professional Shortage Areas. The following criteria were used to identify these
areas: excessive population to provider ratios; isolation from resources because
of distance, rugged terrain, over-utilization, or discrimination; infant
mortality ratio; and the percentage of population earning income at or below the
established poverty level. Communities in these areas desperately need primary
care physicians (physicians trained in family medicine, general internal
medicine, general pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology), plus a variety of
allied health professionals.
What does
the health care shortage mean to you?
It is an important opportunity! If you choose a health career, these areas
can offer you employment and the satisfaction in knowing that you are having an
effect on the lives of the citizens of these communities.
The rewards of choosing a health career are many—good pay,
flexible hours, steady employment, and the positive feelings that come from
helping others. These benefits, coupled with the fact that Arkansas needs health
care professionals, provide you with a unique opportunity. Make a difference in
Arkansas—choose a health career! |
