💉 Health care deserts exist in some parts of New Jersey

💉 Some areas have inadequate access to primary health care

💉 Lack of primary care can lead to unnecessary hospitalizations


You may have heard of a food desert which is a community that has limited or no access to affordable, healthy and nutritious foods.

But what about health care deserts?

Health care deserts are places where there is typically inadequate access to central health services like primary care, hospitals, pharmacies, and mental health services.

This lack of access can lead to unmet needs, resulting in poor health outcomes, said Dr. Novneet Sahu, interim chair in the Department of Family Medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and a member of the Medical Society of New Jersey.

A maternity care desert is a specific type of health care desert where there is an absence or limited access to maternity health services such as hospitals with birthing centers, he said.

Otolaryngologist examining a kid ear
oneblink-cj
loading...

How serious is a primary care shortage?

Unfortunately, there are places in New Jersey that fall under the health care desert umbrella, Sahu said.

A primary care shortage or a lack of primary care services has him very concerned.

“If you don’t have early and comprehensive primary care, your health issues tend to escalate to a point where maybe you were seeking care during an emergency that leads to being hospitalized in a hospital, but this could have been prevented through good preventative medicine, good primary care, screening, potentially even years before,” Sahu said.

Good access to primary care generally leads to the prevention of unnecessary hospitalizations, and leads to a healthier population, he said.

“Also, when we think of primary care, it’s a little bit more than the physician interaction. A lot of it is the team of helping overcome other social drivers of health barriers. Things like how to do you help navigate literacy issues and language barriers. If you look in a food desert, and you live also live in a healthcare desert, your likelihood of having a poor health outcome is compounded by the lack of both of those things,” Sahu explained.

Some areas of New Jersey have been deemed "healthcare deserts" (Canva)
Some areas of New Jersey have been deemed "healthcare deserts" (Canva)
loading...

Where are there healthcare deserts in New Jersey?

If by health care desert you mean primary health care professional shortages, and insufficient access to primary health services, then that affects many urban areas in New Jersey such as Newark, Atlantic City, Camden, and Trenton, Sahu said.

But, then there are areas in the rural parts of New Jersey that face similar issues like not having access to primary care such as Cumberland and Salem counties, he said.

“There are also dental deserts. So, some of these areas may have adequate dental care but poor primary care or okay primary care but poor dental care,” Sahu said.

Newark is a great example.

He said the state’s largest city has great access to lots of sub-specialists but very poor access to primary care.

Primary care health providers typically don't get paid well (Canva)
Primary care health providers typically don't get paid well (Canva)
loading...

What is being done to help get rid of health care deserts in NJ?

Sahu said regional health hubs have been created by the state to streamline health care in many of these desert areas, to try and improve access to care, and to focus on issues such as maternal and child health, childhood asthma, and substance abuse disorder.

New Jersey typically has a fee-for-service model, where patients see a doctor and the doctor gets paid for that visit. But Sahu believes work needs to be done in looking at paying for value instead of paying just for the encounter.

“The incentive is now how to keep people healthy, how to keep people out of the hospital and incentivize primary care to help in some of that. A large part of this shortage issue is that primary care doctors are not paid well,” Sahu said.

Pregnant african american woman visiting doctor gynecologist
Prostock-Studio
loading...

Not being paid well is a large part of the reason for the shortage of health care providers in certain New Jersey counties, he added.

Advocacy is also important in helping to rid the state of health care deserts.

Sahu said people can help support programs and policies to help increase the number of primary care physicians and increase the number of primary care teams like clinics, to bolster the infrastructure in rural, urban, and underserved areas.

He said it’s important for individuals to participate in local health initiatives like health fairs, and wellness programs. And to talk with community members who may have language and transportation barriers, and help them access services if they live in a health care desert.

Telehealth services have also help bridge the gap where people have a lack of medical facilities

“We really need to also focus on how do we recruit a future primary care workforce. Take Newark for example. There is no family medicine residency training program in Newark. So, there is no pipeline to train physicians in family medicine who then want to work in the City of Newark,” Sahu said.

24915467
Jupiterimages
loading...

Bottom Line

If there is no ability to train folks, it will be very difficult to recruit the total number of people needed to be able to provide for everybody in that health care desert, Sahu said.

All these deserts are interconnected. If there is a lack of transportation in a neighborhood, plus no fresh groceries, and a lack of primary health care, that is a recipe for really bad health outcomes in that area, Sahu said.

Report a correction | Contact our newsroom

15 items to never leave in your car during a New Jersey winter

Gallery Credit: Jen Ursillo

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM