Data, Maps and Other Resources

The Washington State Office of Community Health Systems, Rural Health section studies healthcare access and overall health in rural areas.

Maps

Healthcare Professional Shortage Area Maps

Medically Underserved Area and Population Map

Rurality Classification Maps

Data

Rural Health systems Research

Rural/Urban Definitions – What is rural?

Rural is defined in many different ways. The Department of Health document Rural Urban Classification System (PDF) provides guidelines for using rural urban classification systems for public health assessment.

Sub-County Level: Zip Code and Census Tract

Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) codes are the current "state-of-the-art" tool for classifying rural areas. The spreadsheets contain secondary RUCA codes that are based on Census 2010.

County Level Rural-Urban Classification Systems

The county level definition combines classification systems from several state and federal agencies to determine rural-urban status:

Additional Health Data

Publications/Additional Information

Publications

Below are several resources and publications, focusing on health and health related profile of rural populations, available from internal and external sources.

Contact the rural health epidemiologist at 360-236-2870 for more information about these reports and other rural health systems research.

Addictions and Substance Abuse Rehabilitation resources

  • Washington State’s General Overdose Resource website –helping individuals and communities in Washington state respond to prevent opioid overdose.
  • Washington Recovery Help Line – 24-hour help for substance, abuse, problem gambling, and mental health.
  • The State Opioid and Overdose Response (SOOR) Plan has information about Washington State Opioid Response Plan and how the Health Care Authority (HCA) is joining partners across the state to implement the plan.
  • Addictions.com includes general resources for a variety of addictions along with a local treatment center directory like how Narcotics.com helps people find local NA Meetings.
  • Narcotics.com which helps people find local Narcotics Anonymous meetings and provides resources for various types of treatment including inpatient, outpatient, and support groups.
  • Rehabs.org provides info for people at any stage of their recovery journey, including info on different types of therapy/recovery options, warning signs, how to talk to a family member, definitions of different types of treatment.
  • FreeRehabCenters.org is about providing the most complete list of free, low-cost, sliding scale, and low-income assisted rehab lists on the Internet. Thousands of non-profit organizations were scoured that provide alcohol, drug, and other assistance with substance abuse rehabilitation.

Oral Health information

Videos about working at a hospital or clinic, as a paramedic or volunteering in EMS and fire services

The Washington State Office of Rural Health and Primary Care Office support health systems planning and development in Washington's rural and underserved communities to improve health and healthcare across the life span.

Financial Webinar Series: Rural Hospital and Rural Clinic

The State Office of Rural (SORH) at the Washington State Department of Health has partnered with Stroudwater Associates to offer to our rural hospitals and clinics a series of financial, operational, and strategic improvement topics in a Webinar format.

Webinar 1—Washington CAH – Revenue Cycle Management and Measurement

Webinar 2—Primary Care Options in Rural Healthcare

Webinar 3 — Market Analytics to Drive Decision Making

Webinar 4 — Performance Improvement Program: Integration of Finance and Quality

Webinar 5 — Washington RHC Legislative Update

Webinar 6 — Impact of Cost Report on CAH Decision Making

Webinar 7 — CAH Financial and Operational Best Practices

Webinar 8 – Swing Bed Development

Critical Access and Rural Hospitals Annual Profiles

These snapshot profiles provide an understanding of each hospital and the services they offer.

Healthcare Access Reports

The healthcare access reports are informational reports collected as part of the Medicaid Provider Access Assessment. They are a snapshot overview of county-level workforce data, highlighting areas in Washington where a shortage of healthcare providers, servicing our undeserved, underprivileged populations, may exist. Reports are published as they are completed.

Rural counties

Adams (PDF)

Asotin (PDF)

Chelan (PDF)

Clallam (PDF)

Columbia (PDF)

Douglas (PDF)

Ferry (PDF)

Franklin (PDF)

Garfield (PDF)

Grant (PDF)

Grays Harbor (PDF)

Island (PDF)

Kittitas (PDF)

Klickitat (PDF)

Lewis (PDF)

Lincoln (PDF)

Mason (PDF)

Okanogan (PDF)

Pacific (PDF)

Pend Oreille (PDF)

San Juan (PDF)

Skamania (PDF)

Skagit (PDF)

Stevens (PDF)

Wahkiakum (PDF)

Whitman (PDF)

Urban counties

Kitsap (PDF)

Thurston (PDF)

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