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Our Community: Mid-Hudson Valley
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Our Community: Mid-Hudson Valley

The Mid-Hudson Valley region comprises several small cities and towns including New York’s first capital, Kingston. In addition, the region includes several mountain ranges including the Shawangunk Mountains, and the State University of New York at New Paltz. The area boasts stunning natural beauty and residents will find no shortage of ways to explore and take part in community life.

Unfortunately, lower-income and medically underserved residents of the Mid-Hudson Valley experience greater difficulty accessing health care and higher burdens of chronic diseases and other health conditions. The vast majority of patients served by the Institute of Family Health in this region reside in Ulster and Dutchess counties, where residents are primarily White. However, Hispanic and Asian populations in the Mid-Hudson region are growing at a substantial rate (89% and 69%, respectively) resulting in an increasingly diverse community.

As residents of rural and semi-rural areas, community residents face a number of barriers when accessing healthcare. Many residents are isolated from medical services, and have limited access to transportation. The Institute is one of the only healthcare providers in the region that accepts patients regardless of their ability to pay, and for this reason, it serves a disproportionate number of patients from underserved communities.

Many residents suffer from health problems prevalent in low-income rural and semi-rural areas, including high rates of mental health problems such as depression, alcohol and substance abuse; teen pregnancy and low birth weight babies; and diabetes and hypertension. Each of the Institute’s Mid-Hudson Valley practices addresses many of these issues by providing a full range of primary medical care, mental health, and social services. In addition, many residents trained at the Mid-Hudson Family Practice Residency Program continue to serve the region after graduation.

Citations

  1. Mid-Hudson Valley Regional Community Health Assessment 2019-2020
  2. Special Report: Mid-Hudson Region Economic Profile, July 2016

 


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