Printer-friendly Border County Health Workforce Profiles: Florida

Preface

Florida has been and is one of the primary destinations of immigrants to the United States. Unlike the four States that share a border with Mexico, Florida is not adjacent to other countries, but its borders are the port of entry for many authorized and unauthorized immigrants with some cultural and workforce similarities to migrants entering the United States through Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas. In addition to its net contribution to the country's workforce, Florida is part of migration flows of working adults to and from other States.^[1]

Findings from the 2005 American Community Survey (ACS) recently released from the U.S. Census ^[2] reveal that immigration is increasingly shaping the U.S. demographic profile. Since 2000, the foreign-born population and that of the country as a whole increased, respectively, 16 and 5 percent. There are now 36 million foreign-born individuals, over 12 percent of the U.S. population.

A recent analysis of the ACS concludes: "Since most legal and undocumented immigrants alike come to the United States to work, it is no surprise that they are moving to all regions of the country. While the majority of immigrants still settle in traditional 'gateway' states such as California, Florida, New York, and Texas, growing numbers also are settling in 'non-traditional' destinations."^[3] Another study on the foreign-born workforce further describes the phenomenon: "Between 2000 and 2004, there was a positive correlation between the increase in the foreign born population and the employment of native-born workers in 27 states and the District of Columbia," which "accounted for 67 percent of all native-born workers and include all the major destination states for immigrants." ^[4]

The Border County Health Workforce Profiles: Florida was added to the series of U.S.-Mexico border reports because Florida is a port of entry and a place of settlement for immigrants entering the United States and bears some similarity to the States that share a border with Mexico. The set, hereafter referred to as the "Profiles", represents a groundbreaking effort to assemble and disseminate consistent and current information on the health workforce, relevant population characteristics, and basic health indicators for the U.S. Border region and Florida. The Profiles are based on county-level data and reported by geographic proximity to the Border for the four States that share a border with Mexico. Results for Florida are presented at the State level as a definition of "border counties" ^[5] was not available for the State of Florida.

The contract for this study, HRSA-230-03-0017, was awarded to the Regional Center for Health Workforce Studies at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr). The Evaluation and Analysis Branch, Office of Workforce Analysis and Quality Assurance, BHPr, HRSA was responsible for overseeing the study.

Introduction

The Florida and the other Border County Health Workforce Profiles present data obtained from State health agencies and health professions licensing boards to develop social/health indicators and practitioner-to-population ratios, respectively. These indicators help describe health status and health disparities in the U.S. regions that lie next to Mexico or in the State of Florida as well as provide information on the number of practitioners available to address the health needs of the areas. Comparable indicators and ratios were shown in this Report for the State as a whole, the four Border States, and the Nation. The Profiles show that the Border was far from being a homogeneous region. The U.S. counties from San Diego, California, to Brownsville, Texas, and those within the State of Florida, while sharing some common traits, exhibit significant diversity in the proportion of the population that was Hispanic/Latino(a), in socioeconomic indicators, in health status measures and in the supply of health professionals.

Border regions were defined by different entities using criteria of proximity to the Border. One definition identifies only those counties adjacent to the U.S.-Mexico Border as "Border Counties." The U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission (USMBHC) expands that definition to include all counties within 62 miles of the Border excluding La Paz, Maricopa, and Pinal Counties in Arizona and Riverside County in California. The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts broadens the criteria by adding counties considered as directly affected by the economic impact of Border commerce, thus, extending the area to approximately 100 miles from the Border in Texas. Other definitions include larger areas. In Arizona, totals for the following geographic areas are included: within 62 miles from the Border and more than 62 miles from the Border. To satisfy as many users as possible, the Profiles show totals for the following geographic areas for California, New Mexico, and Texas: within 62 miles of the Border, 62-300 miles from the Border, and more than 300 miles from the Border. In the Texas report, totals for counties within 100 miles of the Border were also included. Counties within 62 miles of the Border are also referred to as "Border Counties" throughout these reports using the USMBHC definition. All Florida counties were included and reported at the State level.

The Profiles were organized into three sections:

• A summary of State highlights for health status and the health workforce.
• Three categories of tables: Population and health status, health professions, and health infrastructure. Health professions tables include physicians, dentists, registered nurses, non-physician clinician providers and mental health providers.
• A set of appendices that list counties included in the analysis by geographic area and a review of data sources.

These data may serve as a benchmark for updates and for complementary data from Mexico and other Latin American countries. It is through additional tracking of data and summary of results for future years, and comparison of previous findings, that planners, policy makers, and program administrators will be able to measure the impact that programs may have on the reduction of health disparities for individuals living in the four Border States and Florida.