Our Mission: The mission of our Centre County Partnership for Community Health is to support an inclusive, caring community that promotes healthy people and enhances quality of life through collaborative relationships.
Our Guiding Objective: To assess the health needs of Centre County residents and to develop outreach and partnering efforts that will bridge gaps in service and eliminate barriers to holistic health.
Centre County Community Profile
Centre County, as its name suggests, is geographically situated in the center
of Pennsylvania. The county's population in 2000 was 135,578, representing
a 9.7% increase since 1990; the comparable statewide increase was 3.4%. (1)
The estimated population for Centre County in July, 2005, was 140,561, an
increase of 3.5% since April 2000 (2,3) The State College Metropolitan Statistical
Area (MSA), designated by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, encompasses the entirety
of Centre County, with State College Borough as its principal city. (4) It
is important to note, however, that 36% of the county's population was designated
rural in 2000. (2)
Centre County has a land area of 1,108 square miles and a population density
of 123 per square mile. The county can be divided broadly into northwestern
and southeastern sections. The northeastern half consists mainly of a forested
plateau divided by numerous streams. The principal industrial, mining and
residential centers in this portion of the county are Philipsburg and Snow
Shoe. The southeastern half of the county is characterized by a number of
alternating valleys and ridges common to central Pennsylvania and contains
primarily agricultural and developed uses. The Bellefonte-State College area
contains residential and light industrial/research development centers. (5)
The county is home to the University Park Campus of Penn State University,
which had a student enrollment of 40,709 in Fall, 2005. (6) The inclusion
of Penn State students--on average, younger and in better health than the
general population--in county population counts suggests that caution be exercised
in making health-related comparisons between Centre County and other counties
and the state. For example, in 2000 the median age of the population in Centre
County was 28.7; the comparable figure for statewide Pennsylvania was 38.0.
(7)
State College Borough is the county's largest municipality, with a population
in 2000 of 38,240, some two-thirds of which were Penn State students living
off-campus. The county seat is Bellefonte, which had a population of 6,395
in 2000. All together, there are 36 municipalities in Centre County--11 boroughs
and 25 second-class townships. (1, 5)
In June, 2006, the civilian labor force in Centre County numbered 73,100.
The county unemployment rate for the same time period was 3.4%, comparing
quite favorably to the statewide rate of 5.7%. (8) Penn State University is
the county's largest employer, with 11,367 full-time faculty and staff in
Fall, 2005. (9) In 2000 the education, health and human services industry
accounted for about 40% of employed residents, followed by manufacturing (11%),
arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodations and food services (11%) and
retail trade (10%). (10) In January, 2004, the top five employers in Centre
County were Penn State University, the State College Area School District,
state government, the Mount Nittany Medical Center, and Wal-Mart/Sam’s
Club.
Centre County is served by one nonprofit acute care hospital, the Mount Nittany
Medical Center, a 200-bed facility located just outside State College Borough.
(11) In April, 2006, the Philipsburg Area Hospital, a 25-bed facility located
in Philipsburg Borough, announced that it was closing due to financial problems.
However, in August the Centre Daily Times reported that prospects were favorable
for the Philipsburg facility’s reopening under new ownership by the
end of 2006. The county is also home to one rehabilitation facility, Health
South Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital (85 licensed beds), and one psychiatric
facility, Meadows Psychiatric Center with (64 licensed beds). (12) Penn State's
University Health Center (UHS), located on the University Park Campus, is
a primary care health facility serving the university community, principally
its student body. Primary care services offered by UHS include diagnosis and
treatment of acute and chronic illnesses, health promotion and disease prevention,
health counseling, and referrals to off-campus providers, when appropriate.
(13)
Six nursing homes provide long-term care in Centre County. Centre Crest, located
in Bellefonte, is the largest, with 240 licensed beds, while Foxdale Village,
located in State College, is the smallest (32 licensed beds). The other three
facilities are University Park Nursing Center (State College; 157 licensed
beds), Windy Hill Village of the Presbyterian Homes (Philipsburg; 120 licensed
beds); and Fairways at Brookline (State College, 116 licensed beds). (12)
All together, in 2003 Centre County had 4.76 licensed/approved nursing home
beds per 1,000 residents, compared to a rate of 7.37 for statewide Pennsylvania.
(2)
In 2004, there were 74.3 primary care physicians per 100,000 residents in
Centre County, and 64.2 pediatric physicians per 100,000 residents. The comparable
rate for dentists in the county was 50.1. (2) Statewide rates for the same
year were, respectively, 82.8, 63.3, and 68.0. (3) In the area of emergency
care, in 2004 there were 2.30 emergency medical technicians and 0.20 first
responders per 1,000 Centre County residents. (2)
The Centre County Council for Human Services' published directory lists more
than 200 human services agencies, both public and private, in the county.
The range of services provided is diverse, including children and youth, family
health, the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, vocational rehabilitation,
job counseling and placement, the Women's Resource Center, and mental health/mental
retardation, among many others. A recent entrant into the local voluntary
health services field is Centre Volunteers in Medicine (CVIM), which provides
access to free primary health care to county residents meeting eligibility
criteria established by the agency. CVIM's target population is the "working
poor," consisting of households with incomes too high to qualify for
Medicaid but not sufficient for the purchase of private health insurance.
CVIM was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 2001 and began offering
services in 2003. (15)
On most of the commonly recognized morbidity, mortality and health-risk indicators,
Centre County compares favorably to statewide statistics. For example, the
incidence rate of AIDS during 2001-2003 was 2.4 (per 100,000 residents), while
the statewide rate for the same period was 11.6. The comparable rates for
tuberculosis were 1.7 (county) and 2.9 (state). The average annual invasive
cancer incidence rates (age-adjusted, per 100,000 population) for 2000-2002
were 568.4 (males) and 418.0 (females) in Centre County, compared to 597.5
(males) and 437.9 (females) statewide. In 2002, on two widely recognized indicators
of health risk for infants, Centre County rates were slightly lower than statewide
figures. The percent of low-birth-rate infants was 7.7% in Centre County and
8.1% statewide. The comparable figures for pregnant women receiving no prenatal
care during the first trimester were 14.0% (county) and 18.1% (state). (14)
The age-adjusted death rates (per 1,000 population) were 8.3 (county) and
8.7 (statewide) in 2002. At both the county and state levels, the leading
causes of death were heart disease and cancer, with the average age-adjusted
annual rates slightly lower at the county level for both. The age-adjusted
mortality rates (per 100,000 population) for heart diseases were comparable
(county 256.3; state 254.1). The age-adjusted mortality rate for cancer (all
sites) was lower for Centre County (176.0) compared to statewide Pennsylvania
(200.7). In 2003 the rate of infant deaths per 1,000 live births for Centre
County was 6.0, compared to the statewide rate of 7.3. (14)
In 2001 some 10.6% of the Centre County population had incomes below the poverty
level, compared to 10.0% statewide. In 2001 the poverty rate for families
in Centre County with children under 5 years of age was 12.0 percent. However,
figures compiled in December, 2003, showed that the proportion of the county's
population eligible for medical assistance was 7.3%, compared to 14.0% statewide.
(16, 7) A state-administered program focused on the health insurance needs
of children is the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). In June of
2006, CHIP enrollment in Centre County was 936. (17). A review of Centre County
data on household income suggests that Centre Volunteers in Medicine's targeting
of the working poor for primary care services is responding to an important
"gap," or unfilled need, in county health services.
In drawing conclusions about Centre County's community profile, the inclusion
in most health statistics of the sizable student population at the University
Park Campus of Penn State University must be taken into account. County residents
who live in outlying areas, particularly more remote rural sections of the
county, often confront economic and health disadvantages that are masked by
more general countywide statistics.
More detailed information on Centre County's demographic, health status and
health resources data can be obtained by using one or more of the linkages
listed on this home page. An abundance of information is available and waiting
to be used.
References:
1. Centre County Planning Office, Population Change 1980-2000 http://county.centreconnect.org/planning/popchange.htm
2. Center for Rural Pennsylvania: Centre County Profile
http://www.ruralpa2.org/county_profiles.cfm?RDCounty=Centre+County&RDCounty2=0&Submit=Submit+Query
3. Center for Rural Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Profile
http://www.ruralpa2.org/county_profiles.cfm?RDCounty=Pennsylvania+%28State+Total%29&RDCounty2=0&Submit=Submit+Query
4. U. S. Bureau of the Census
http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/aboutmetro.html
5. Pennsylvania State Data Center, Pennsylvania County Data Book, 2003 (CD-Rom)
6. Penn State University Fact Book, Fall 2005 Enrollment
http://www.budget.psu.edu/FactBook/StudentDynamic/EnrollmentSummary2Years.asp?SemesterCodes=200405FA200506FA
7. Pennsylvania State Data Center, Demographic Profiles (DP1-DP4), Centre
County and Pennsylvania
http://pasdc.hbg.psu.edu/pasdc/census_2000/Data/SF3/DP1-DP4/05042027.pdfhttp://pasdc.hbg.psu.edu/pasdc/census_2000/Data/SF3/DP1-DP4/04042.pdf
8. Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Workforce Data
http://www.paworkstats.state.pa.us/reports/cent_cp.pdf
9. Penn State University Fact Book, Fall 2005 Employment Data
http://www.budget.psu.edu/FactBook/HRDynamic/EmployeesbyClassificationSummary5.asp?YearCode=2005humors
10. Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County, 2004 Guide to Centre County – February 1, 2004.
11. Mount Nittany Medical Center, http://www.mountnittany.org./
12. Pennsylvania Long-term Care Facilities (data from calendar year 2004)
http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/lib/health/facilities/directories/2006LTCDIRECTORY.pdf
13. Penn State University, University Health Center
http://www.sa.psu.edu/hhs
14. Pensylvania Department of Health, County Health Profiles:
Centre County: http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/lib/health/countyprofiles/2004/centre.pdf
Statewide Pennsylvania: http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/lib/health/countyprofiles/2004/pennsylvania.pdf
15. Centre Volunteers in Medicine
http://www.cvim.net
16. Pennsylvania Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), June 2006
http://chipcoverspakids.com/interior.php?subPage=Partners_Facts
