Poverty levels ......increased more than 13 percent in Sarasota County

[SoCalDem]

http://www.venicegondolier.com/NewsArchive3/121804/tp2vn15.htm

12/18/04

Health care: Trouble in paradise


Editor's Note:

This is the first in a series of stories on unmet health needs in South Sarasota County. On Wednesday we'll have a story about transportation obstacles and the red tape that holds up getting good medical care for the elderly.


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"Part-time workers or service workers cannot often take the day off," said Leslie Clarke, Community Health Improvement Project Director. "It's a big issue because we're dependent on the service industry. There's a push to get more people insured."
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Food or drugs?

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Little does he know more than 9,000 people in South Sarasota and Charlotte counties are worse off than he is, and he gets more company every year. Forty-nine percent of the uninsured in the Laurel, Osprey, Venice and Nokomis areas live in the 34293 zip code. According to CHIP reports, those who are uninsured rely on friends for health care information.

The report states only half of those without insurance will get a doctor's evaluation. "Uninsured LOVN residents," states the report, "were less likely to use a provider directory, phone book or library to obtain health information."

Poverty levels over the last decade have increased more than 13 percent in Sarasota County, according to CHIP's health profile for Sarasota and Charlotte Counties. Charlotte County's levels have increased by 8.2 percent. "The county is fairly healthy," Clarke said. "The biggest surprises have been the populations of people that had to choose between food and medical care."


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You can e-mail Angeline Taylor at: [e-mail].


By Angeline Taylor

Staff Writer

[kerry-is-my-prez]

1. They elected & re-elected Katherine Harris - what do they expect.

She's been a totally incompetent Representative also.

[SoCalDem]

2. Just as the article explains why poor people don't get medical care,

it also explains the disconnect with politics.. People who are working 16 hrs a day (or TRYING to), have little time to ponder the politics of their region, state or nation.. They are too busy trying to put food on the table, pay for daycare, and come up with rent money..

The rats in the maze never wonder who built the maze or how they could get it made easier to transit...they only know that when they get to the end of it there is a food pellet for them