Health Care Provider Impact Statement for Jefferson County
Number of docs in 2009: 51. That's 17.2 physicians per 10,000 population1, the tenth-lowest rate in western Washington. Washington's rate is 21.2 physicians per 10,000; the national average is about 20.2 per 10,000.2 Washington imports about 85% of its physicians from other states or nations.3
Health professional breakout:
---The Jefferson County Public Hospital District operates the Jefferson Healthcare Hospital in Port Townsend, as well as several clinics in Port Townsend, Quilcene and Port Ludlow.
---Jefferson Healthcare Hospital employs six MDs. The district also employs 22 MDs, one DO, nine physician assistants and five nurse practitioners at its network of clinics in Port Townsend. It also has one MD and two nurse practitioners in Port Ludlow and one nurse practitioner in Quilcene.4
Number of current WWAMI Spokane and Pullman medical students from Jefferson County: oneNumber of current WSU pharmacy students from Jefferson County: zero
Number of current WSU nursing students from Jefferson County: zero
UW School of Medicine clinical faculty in Jefferson County: one MD5
Health professionals in Jefferson County who graduated from Washington colleges: Jefferson Healthcare Hospital has at least five UW School of Medicine graduates, three former residents and two doctors who did fellowships in Seattle. It also has three UW physician assistant graduates.6
Port Townsend is a site for medical students to spend a few weeks between their first and second years exploring rural medicine (Rural/Underserved Opportunities Program).7
Jefferson County unemployment rate (Nov. 2012): 8.7% (state average 7.8% seasonally adjusted, 7.3% not seasonally adjusted)8
Health care/social assistance employment in Jefferson County9: 897 (out of 8,100 jobs). It's the county's fourth-largest employer, providing about $5.7 million in payroll, about 8.7% of the county's total payroll.
1According to the UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
2UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
3Association of American Medical Colleges
4Numbers gleaned from hospital and clinic websites
5UW Clinical faculty listing: http://depts.washington.edu/fammed/clinical_faculty/listings
6Numbers calculated from hospital and clinic websites
7http://uwmedicine.washington.edu/Education/WWAMI/Documents/2011%20WWAMI%20Maps.pdf
8Washington Department of Employment Security
9Washington Department of Employment Security (third quarter, 2010)