How healthy is El Dorado County?

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - El Dorado County stretches from the foothills to Lake Tahoe, giving residents fresh air, rivers, lakes, mountains, and two National Forests to enjoy. So, when asking the question, how healthy are the residents of El Dorado county one would assume "very."

But when looking at survey and study results, that isn't always necessarily so though depending on which part of the county will change results. Many of the South Lake Tahoe results that are in need of addressing come from a lack of access to medical care, lower-than-average mammograms, as well as fewer cervical cancer and colorectal cancer screenings. The region's stroke, depression, alcohol, and drug problems, and stroke percentages are higher than the state's average. The area also has a high rate of those with less access to healthy food. (see all results here)

There are also good things to reflect on: A larger percentage of locals participate in leisure and physical activities, and fewer are overweight or obese than the state average. Also, everything can be addressed and creates opportunities for success.

In the first half of 2022, there was a detailed data inquiry process undertaken to get a comprehensive list of major health issues affecting El Dorado County. A host of federal, state, and local data sources, tools, and organizations were queried and researched, coming up with the following results:

1. HEART DISEASE - The prevalence of heart disease among El Dorado County adults has increased over time, and heart disease and hospitalization rates for heart attack are higher among El Dorado adults when compared to California.

2. CANCER - El Dorado County has a higher overall cancer incidence rate when compared to California, and the same trend is seen when looking at specific types of cancer such as breast and prostate.

3. ACCIDENTS, UNINTENTIONAL INJURIES, AND MOTOR VEHICLE CRASHES - El Dorado County’s age-adjusted mortality rate for accidents increased notably by 32% between 2019 and 2020 and is higher than that for California. Among all counties in California, El Dorado is in the highest third for deaths due to motor vehicle crashes.

4. LIVER DISEASE/CIRRHOSIS - El Dorado County’s 2020 age-adjusted mortality rate for chronic liver disease/cirrhosis increased by 12% between 2019 and 2020 and is higher than California’s overall rate.

5. ALZHEIMER DISEASE - El Dorado County’s 2020 age-adjusted mortality rate for Alzheimer Disease increased significantly by 63% between 2019 and 2020 and is higher than both the rate across California and the US.

6. MENTAL HEALTH AND SUICIDE - El Dorado County’s 2020 age-adjusted mortality rate for suicide is notably higher than the rate for California
and the US. While suicide rates are higher for men, a higher percentage of female adults surveyed in El Dorado County report having thought about suicide compared to adult males.

7. SUBSTANCE USE / DRUG OVERDOSE - El Dorado County’s age-adjusted death rate as well as emergency department visit rates due to drug use are higher when compared to California, and the death rate due to opioid related overdose has been increasing over time.

8. DIABETES - While El Dorado County fares better than California and the US overall in diabetes mortality, it did experience a 37% increase in the age-adjusted mortality rate between 2019 and 2020.

9. OBESITY AND OVERWEIGHT - 1 in 4 El Dorado County adults surveyed recently reported weight in the obese category, an increase compared to previous years. Other survey results reveal that more than half of El Dorado County adults report consuming fast food at least once a week, and the percentage is highest among Black/African Americans when data are disaggregated by race/ethnicity.

10. ASTHMA - 1 in 5 adults surveyed in El Dorado County report ever being told by a health care provider that they had asthma, a percentage that has increased over time and is higher than the percentage for California overall
(16.1%). Similarly, the prevalence of smoking among El Dorado County adults surveyed is higher when compared to California.

11. MATERNAL HEALTH - According to the most recent birth data, El Dorado County has a lower proportion of women who began prenatal care in the 1st trimester when compared California, and the rate of substance abuse diagnoses and mental health diagnoses is higher among pregnant females in El Dorado County when compared to California.

12. CHILD HEALTH - El Dorado County’s substantiated child abuse rate is higher than the rate across California overall. According to other data from previous years, El Dorado also has a higher rate of children in foster care when compared to California overall, and a higher percentage of adults reporting that they experienced 4+ adverse childhood experiences as a child.

(to see this in Spanish as well as English, click here)

Health managers at the county level and in South Lake Tahoe see this data as well as their using their own surveys to address the needs of the community. They then take the information to focus their efforts on needed areas of concern.

"Every three years, Barton conducts a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), a comprehensive report identifying health needs within the community," explains Barton Public Relations Specialist Thea Hard. "The CHNA is compiled from survey data in Barton’s primary service area, which includes the eastern part of El Dorado County, the western part of Douglas County, and a small section of Alpine County. A series of health questions and responses are collected and compared to national, state, and county data, illustrating where the Lake Tahoe service area results may index high."

Hardy said current data yielded 12 areas of opportunity: access to healthcare services, mental health, substance abuse, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke, infant health and family planning, injury and violence, nutrition, physical activity and weight, potentially disabling conditions, respiratory disease (COVID-19), and tobacco use. These areas are identified based on a series of questions within each category.

"Armed with this data, a Community Health Advisory Committee comprised of healthcare providers, school district staff, county mental and behavioral health administrators, and social service and non-profit leaders is assembled to formulate an action plan to address these gaps," said Hardy. "Many of the categories are in need of a community-wide approach and are addressed through strategies such as program development, community partner collaboration, and service addition, activating diverse services and strengths within the community."

El Dorado County (EDC) handles the data in much the same way. The EDC Public Health department held its first Community Health Improvement Planning meeting in January to discuss how they will address the top issues prioritized through their assessment process.

"The top issues, selected from data and community input, are mental health and substance abuse, child health and overweight and obesity," said El Dorado County Public Health Director Olivia Byron-Cooper who is also the interim El Dorado County HHSA director. "We are currently discussing the root causes of each (the whys) and determining which interventions, we as a community, want to put into place."

The information will make its way to the county's WellDorado website, a valuable online tool used for wellness and data. Programs will be centered around what the data reveals as the needs of the area.

Complete results from current and past CHNAs in South Lake Tahoe, along with summary from the current 2021 report, and the publicly available Action Plan that resulted from the Community Health Action Committee can be found here: https://www.bartonhealth.org/tahoe/community-health.aspx.