State tracks hospital visits by ZIP code

TRI-COUNTY AREA—The Department of Health is looking to improve health care with its new Web site that shows hospitalizations rates by ZIP code.

The Prevention Quality Indicator (PQI) Web site not only breaks down admission rates for conditions considered preventable with access to good health care, but also by race and those below the poverty level.

The site is accessible on the DOH’s main page, http://www.health.state.ny.us/, under the Health News feed.  It went live Dec. 23, 2008.  After selecting the county a person wants to get a closer look at it, the different ZIP codes can be clicked in order to see total statistics for admissions.  The site also shows the number of patients admitted in a ZIP code for four kinds of treatment; acute, circulatory, diabetes and respiratory.  All hospital information is from 2005 to 2006 discharge information.

On the DOH Web site, Gov. David A. Paterson is quoted as saying that this Web site will an important tool in improving the health care provided in New York.

One option shows admittance to any given hospital by ZIP code.  For instance, over 20 percent of the people in the ZIP code 14527 (Penn Yan area) have gone to Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hospital in Penn Yan.   For people in ZIP code 14837 (Dundee area), 10 to 20 percent have gone to Soldiers & Sailors.  That ZIP code is both in Yates and Schuyler Counties.  The surrounding ZIP codes all showed that one to five percent or less than one percent have gone there.

In the rest of Schuyler County not in the 14837 ZIP code, all were all under one percent of the people who had gone to Soldiers & Sailors.  In Steuben County, those in the 14840 (Hammondsport area) and 14810 (Bath area) ZIP codes, had one to five percent of the population went to Soldiers & Sailors.

Ten to 20 percent of people in ZIP code 14527 (Penn Yan area) have gone to Geneva General, the most in Yates County.  Steuben and Schuyler Counties were all under five percent, mostly with only under one percent of people going to Geneva General.

In Schuyler County, over 20 percent of people in ZIP codes 14891 (Watkins Glen area) and 14865 (Montour Falls area) went to Schuyler Hospital.  Between five and 10 percent of people went there in 14818 (Burdett area), 14869 (Odessa area) and 14812 (Beaver Dams area).  The rest of the surrounding ZIP codes were under five percent.

In Yates County, more people in ZIP code 14837 (Dundee area) went to Schuyler Hospital in Montour Falls than in the rest of the county.  The map said only one to five percent of people in 14527 (Penn Yan area) went to Schuyler Hospital.

The two Steuben County ZIP codes had less than one percent of their population go to Schuyler Hospital.  However. Over 20 percent of the people in 14810 (Bath area) went to Ira Davenport Memorial Hospital.  Five to 10 percent of the people in 14840 (Hammondsport area) went there as well.

The majority of the ZIP codes in Schuyler County had under one percent go to Ira Davenport.  The ZIP codes on the western edge of the county had a slight increase as they were closer to Steuben County.  In 14815 (Bradford area), five to 10 percent of the population went to Ira Davenport.

In Yates County it was the same way.  ZIP code 14837 (Dundee area) was the only one to have over one percent of its residents go to Ira Davenport.  However, it was just with an attendance rate of five percent and under.

Other hospitals in the area include Strong Memorial in Rochester.  Over 20 percent of people in Yates County ZIP code 14527 went there.  ZIP code 14837, which includes part of Schuyler as well as Yates, had five to 10 percent of its residents.  People living near Hammondsport had the same percent.

In Schuyler County, most ZIP codes had less than five percent of people go to Arnot Ogden Medical Center in Elmira.  ZIP code 14837 was the only Yates County one to have over five percent go there.

According to the map, for most of the ZIP codes in Yates County, the number of patients admitted to hospitals for all types of acute conditions was the highest of the four areas the Web site covers.  Acute conditions includes bacterial pneumonia, dehydration, and urinary tract infection.  Of five ZIP codes, the area population was 16,436.  Out of that, 135 residents were hospitalized for all acute conditions.  Of the remaining four conditions, 72 people went to the hospital for all circulatory conditions, 27 for all diabetes conditions, and 52 for all respiratory conditions.

Acute conditions was also the highest for residents in ZIP codes in central Schuyler County, with a population of 13,700.  Of that, 164 patients have been admitted for acute conditions.  Only 87 people were admitted for all circulatory conditions, 55 for all respiratory conditions and 26 for all diabetes conditions.

For Hammondsport’s ZIP code 14840 in Steuben County, the most number of patients went to the hospital for acute care as well.  However, since it is just one ZIP code with a population 2,704; the numbers of patients were all under 20 (that being the number of acute care patients).