Geography
Explore geography articles on how your zip code shapes aging, healthcare access, and outcomes across different communities in the U.S.
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Inside the West Health City Checkup
Not one of the 789 cities graded by the West Health City Checkup earned an A. Rockville, Maryland, ranked first in the country, earns the single highest grade anyone achieved: a B+. Its Safety & Security domain, on its own, sits at only the 72nd percentile.1 Strong, not flawless, and that's true of the best report card in America.That's not a flaw in the measurement. It's the finding, and that’s w...
America's Cities Just Got a Checkup
Today, 789 American cities took the same checkup. Not one earned an A. West Health graded all of them, A+ to F, across seven dimensions of daily life: financial security, infrastructure, mental and behavioral health, physical environment, physical health, safety, and social connection. Rockville, Maryland earned the best report card in the country, a B+. Memphis, Tennessee ranked 789th out of 789....
America: An Aging Nation
The infographic below illustrates how quickly the nation’s age balance is changing — and how that change is already playing out across states. It also pairs demographic projections with survey data capturing how older adults themselves feel about aging. Together, these insights highlight both the scale of the transition and the lived experience behind the numbers.Key TakeawaysBy 2030, older adults...
The Link Between Affordable Transportation and Living Independently
In the infographic below, we illustrate how transportation costs differ across states and how these differences affect the ability of older adults living alone to maintain independence.Key Takeaways:Most older adults (77%) want to “age in place,” remaining in their homes and communities. Yet 63% of adults are concerned about their ability to live independently as they age.Access to affordable, rel...
Supporting Local Multisector Plans for Aging in Rural Communities
When people think of California, they often imagine it is primarily suburban and urban, picturing Los Angeles and San Francisco. However, more than one in eight Californians ages 65 and older lives in a rural or frontier (fewer than 6 people per square mile) Census code. That’s 804,000 adults—more than the entire populations of Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska or North Dakota.Rural communities across the ...
VaxMap 2.0: West Health Policy Center and University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy Develop County-Level Map of Potential COVID-19 Vaccine Locations
EXECUTIVE SUMMARYIntroductionPreparedness and planning are of upmost importance to ensure a timely and equitable administration of COVID-19 vaccines among the U.S. population. Geographic information systems analysis can be used to inform the design of vaccine distribution and administration plans. These analyses can identify limitations in the existing health care facility infrastructure to ensure...
A Practical Guide To Telehealth: Implementing Telehealth in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Settings (PALTC)
Highlights from the Guide:Assessing needs and readiness: Tools to identify unmet needs and evaluate organizational readiness, including operational characteristics, culture, and technical infrastructure, to ensure alignment between goals and solutions.Financial models: Recommendations for exploring reimbursement options and value propositions to select cost-effective telehealth models, highlightin...
Achieving Value in Medicaid Home- and Community-Based Care: Considerations for Managed Long-Term Services and Supports Programs
States are increasingly adopting value-based payment (VBP) models to tie payment to outcomes including quality of care, health status, and costs for their Medicaid programs. Although most Medicaid VBP models are for primary and acute care services, states are beginning to explore VBP for long-term services and supports (LTSS).This guide, made possible by the West Health Policy Center, describes co...