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Border County Health Workforce Profiles:
Florida
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.
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.
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