State Information for Washington
The state of Washington is located in the northwest corner of the contiguous United States south of Canada, north of Oregon and west of Idaho. It is the only state named after a president, George Washington. The area encompasses 71,300 square miles, 18th in the country for size. Washington's topography is diverse including coastlines, rain forests and mountains west of the Cascade Range with plains and farmland to the east. The Columbia River, the largest in the western United States, originates in British Columbia (Canada) and flows south and west through the state.
Approximately 6,396,000 people live in Washington, according to the 2006 U.S. Bureau of the Census Population Estimates Program. The capital of Washington is Olympia. Spokane is the largest city within a 200 mile radius in eastern Washington, and the service center for the Inland Empire. Washington has 39 counties including King County, which is the 13th largest county in the United States. Population density is highly concentrated in the western Puget Sound region, including the state's largest city of Seattle with a population of 563,400 people, whereas the remainder of the state is sparsely populated. Residents are predominantly white (77%) with a significant Hispanic/Latino population (8.8%). Asian (6.4%), African-American (3.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%) comprise the remaining population, with 3% reporting more than one ethnicity. Washington tribal organizations include the Spokane Tribe and Yakama Nation to the east and the Makah and Swinomish to the west.
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Locate Washington NN/LM Members
The directory of Washington members of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) includes health libraries, public libraries, and community-based organizations in the state that provide quality health information.
Library and Information Professional Resources
- The Regional Medical Library (RML) for the Pacific Northwest Region (PNR) is in Washington:
- Washington's NN/LM Resource Libraries are:
- Washington Medical Librarians Association strives to improve the quality of health sciences library information in the Washington by offering health information professionals continuing education and professional interaction.
- Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Medical Library Association (PNC/MLA) includes Washington as part of a regional organization of medical librarians and health information professionals in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and two regions of Canada (Alberta and British Columbia), and is an official chapter of the Medical Library Association (MLA).
- E-Licensing Consortia contains links to consortium agreement programs among libraries in the Pacific Northwest Region, including Washington's statewide database licensing project.
- Washington's American Library Association (ALA)-accredited library and information studies school is:
- Washington State Library is the central reference and research library for state government and legislature, and provides support to the state library system.
- Washington Library Association is the state association providing leadership for developing, improving and promoting library services for Washington residents.
State Health and Statistics Information
- FastStats, from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), are a quick reference to state birth and death rates with links to additional report data.
- H.E.R.E in Washington Health Education Resource Exchange provides public health education and health promotion projects, materials and resources to assist community health professionals in sharing with colleagues.
- Quick Health Data Online, from the Office on Women's Health, is a database of comprehensive health data for both women and men searchable by state and county.
- State Health Facts Online, sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation, provides current state health data on topics such as demographics, insurance coverage and health status.
- State and Local Health Data Sets, from Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce (PHPartners), includes a comprehensive list of resources containing state-specific public health information.
- Trust for America's Health , a non-profit and non-partisan disease prevention organization, provides state and national health indicators, federal funding levels, health disparities and statistics regarding cancer and birth defects tracking.
State General Information
- Access Washington , Washington's official state government website.
- City and County Data , from Washington's Office of Financial Management, provides information by county on economic, financial, criminal justice and human services data.
- Washington State Data Book, from Washington's Office of Financial Management, provides state-level information on Washington's population, economy, education, environment and related topics.
- Washington Quick Facts, from the U.S. Census Bureau, provides current state population, business and geographical facts.
Special Populations
This section includes groups of individuals who share common characteristics that are distinctive from the general population. These characteristics may include racial and/or ethnic background, socioeconomic status, geographic location, and age. The characteristics of special populations are important to be aware of as they can affect the population's health status.
- EthnoMed, from the HSL and Harborview Medical Center, contains medical and cultural information for health care providers and related professions regarding different immigrant and refugee populations in Seattle and Pacific Northwest region.
- Frontier Education Center, from the National Center for Frontier Communities, defines characteristics of frontier counties and contains maps, reports on special health needs of frontier populations, and policy issues.
- Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Health (GLBT), from Public Health Seattle & King County, contains resources about GLBT health concerns, health issues, and local/national GLBT resources.
- Indian Health Service - Portland Area Office is the federal health program for American Indians and Alaska Natives residing in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
- Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, a tribal organization, represents the health care interests of 43 federally recognized tribes in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
- Refugee Health Information Network (RHIN) is a database of quality multilingual public health resources for those providing care to resettled refugees and asylees.
- Washington Rural Health Association links to state rural health events, publications, resources, membership, administration, and more.
- Rural health and human services, from the US Department of Health and Human Services Rural Assistance Center, is a web portal of Washington rural health contacts, organizations, tools, maps, news and events.
Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUA/Ps)
MUA/Ps are areas or populations designated by the Shortage Designation Branch, part of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as not having sufficient access to medical care. If an area is designated MUA, then the entire population is covered, if the designation is MUP, only a specific population is. Occasionally, regions receive a designation of GOV, which means that the state governor requested that the area be included due to local barriers and/or health conditions. The MUA/P designation is often important when obtaining grants or other funding. The most accurate and up-to-date source of this information is the HRSA database.
Government Information Resources
- FedStats provides access to statistics prepared by over 100 federal agencies. Statistics are available on a state and community level.
- Google Search <Uncle Sam> searches government information on all levels using the standard Google interface and algorithm.
- State and Local Government on the Net provides links to government information on a state and local level for the fifty states, as well as selected US territories.
- USA.gov provides a search engine and subject indexes for US state and federal information.
Additional Resources
- 2-1-1Community Resources Database, from Washington Information Network 2-1-1 (WIN 211), contains resources for state health & human service providers and a list of designated 2-1-1 providers by county and region.
- Washington State Emergency Management, a division of the Washington Military Department, contains resources regarding hazards, preparedness, disaster assistance, grant funding, training and exercises in emergency planning.
- KUOW 94.9 FM, Western Washington regional public radio station, also lists regional and state emergency resources.
- KPBX 91.1 FM, Inland Empire (Eastern Washington) regional public radio station.
- Seattle Times, Seattle (Puget Sound) regional newspaper.
- The Olympian, Olympia (South Sound) regional newspaper.
- Spokesman Review, Spokane (Inland Empire) regional newspaper.
