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Status:
"48 years in MD, 18 in NC"
(set 15 days ago)
Location: Greenville, NC
2,309 posts, read 6,105,617 times
Reputation: 1430
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Here are the latest statewide health rankings. The East had some bright spots with Pitt County being about average (no surprise there) but there are still areas that need huge improvements. The south central and central northeast parts of the state continues to be the worst.
Based on my travels "Down East" several times a week for my internship, this is not in the least bit surprising. I often wondered how these areas fared health-wise. It's clear there's a disparity in--well, basically EVERYTHING, but it's sad. What can be done to even get doctors to practice down that way? We have a GLUT of doctors in the Triangle, and really a GLUT of everything. There are all kinds of doctors, organizations to raise awareness, support groups, programs offered by the fiftyeleven hospitals, etc. for EVERYTHING under the sun. But many other NC counties have very little, and need so much.
I feel slightly guilty and hypocritical...because I have NO plans to move down that way, and will be remaining in the Triangle. But I can see why the health would be poorer in many of these areas.
Last edited by Special_Guest; 04-01-2011 at 05:45 PM..
Status:
"48 years in MD, 18 in NC"
(set 15 days ago)
Location: Greenville, NC
2,309 posts, read 6,105,617 times
Reputation: 1430
Quote:
Originally Posted by Special_Guest
Based on my travels "Down East" several times a week for my internship, this is not in the least bit surprising. I often wondered how these areas fared health-wise. It's clear there's a disparity in--well, basically EVERYTHING, but it's sad. What can be done to even get doctors to practice down that way? We have a GLUT of doctors in the Triangle, and really a GLUT of everything. There are all kinds of doctors, organizations to raise awareness, support groups, programs offered by the fiftyeleven hospitals, etc. for EVERYTHING under the sun. But many other NC counties have very little, and need so much.
I feel slightly guilty and hypocritical...because I have NO plans to move down that way, and will be remaining in the Triangle. But I can see why the health would be poorer in many of these areas.
You could start by not calling it "Down" East. Some of us prefer Eastern Carolina or East Carolina.
I'm sure there are some clinics out here that would love to have a part time physician that would volunteer.
Richard, Down East refers to a specific area of Eastern NC, it's a perfectly acceptable term.
Anyway, sad to see they didn't include mental health services and access, etc in the rankings. I'd wager much of Eastern NC would fare much more poorly than it already does, especially in the wake of the Albemarle Mental Health fiasco a few years back.
Not being from the area, I didn't realize some don't care for the term "Down East". I don't want to offend anyone, so I'll discontinue its' use.
I'm not a physician, I'm in an allied health field. Due to the nature of my field, I am not sure if there are many opportunities for volunteering. But that's not a bad idea. I may look into finding out if anything is available.
New Hanover County is number 8! I'm shocked that 25% of the kids here don't graduate from high school though. Public education is a joke.
Not sure about that graduation rate, but I do know that New Hanover has one of the top school systems in the State based off test scores. In fact, it's interesting to note that the healthiest counties in the east are those with the best school systems. Craven, Carteret, Dare, and New Hanover. Onslow school system is average, but you could chock their results up to the Marine Corps.
As far as the "down east" term, I can see why special guest used the term as she spent time in New Bern once in her life. Though the term originally was used exclusively for Eastern Carteret County beyond Beaufort, it has over time grown to be used to refer to Craven, Carteret, and Pamlico county as a whole. It is improper to refer to the whole of ENC as down east but anything along US Highway 70 around New Bern on down is fine.
As far as the "down east" term, I can see why special guest used the term as she spent time in New Bern once in her life. Though the term originally was used exclusively for Eastern Carteret County beyond Beaufort, it has over time grown to be used to refer to Craven, Carteret, and Pamlico county as a whole. It is improper to refer to the whole of ENC as down east but anything along US Highway 70 around New Bern on down is fine.
I had no idea! Thanks for clearing that up. Anything east-ish of the Triangle was always "east" to me!
Quote:
Originally Posted by box_of_zip_disks
WITN's referred to their broadcast area as down east for decades, it's fine.
That's a pretty big swath of the state! Right out of college, I applied at WITN and WCTI, and ended up working at Channel 12, hence my brief time in NB. I had friends who worked--and one who still works--at WITN though.
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But I can see why the health would be poorer in many of these areas.
