Opinion: Better Health Care Is Everyone’s Job
I want to thank Dr. Keith Flamer for convening the New Vision for Humboldt Health Care Task Force (see “A Call to Action,” May Senior News, page 1). This effort of local community and business leaders deserves our full attention and support.
As Dr. Bruce Kessler’s article in May’s Senior News points out (“Humboldt’s 21-Year Doctor Drain Continues,” page 3), Humboldt County has seen a 36% drop in the number of primary care physicians since 2005, along with sharp declines in surgeons and medical specialists. People of all ages in our community experience this firsthand when trying to find consistent medical care without having to travel out of the area.
Our healthcare institutions cannot be expected to manage this crisis alone without engaging all of us as healthcare consumers. As Dr. Flamer states, “We, as employers, have a responsibility to consider multifaceted strategies and innovative and collaborative solutions to improve healthcare access in our region.”
Rural areas nationwide face similar challenges, but some have created successful systems in response. In his May article, “Rescuing Rural Health Care” (page 4), Allan Katz says that “when people come together to solve a common problem, they always find ways to make things better.” And Peter Pennekamp describes “Models from Other Communities” that have found ways to retain new medical providers through communitywide efforts at “social and professional integration.”
In Humboldt, we tend to work in silos — in education, health care, government, business and other arenas. Our healthcare institutions have done valiant work to increase the supply of medical providers, but those efforts are not paying off as they should. Our government, education and business leaders have called attention to the situation because hiring and retaining their own personnel is much more difficult if newcomers cannot access health care.
Throughout our community, we know from our own experience that these problems are real and getting worse. We can and should work together and learn from the successes of other communities to come up with solutions adapted to our area.
The New Vision for Humboldt Health Care Task Force represents a promising new effort to break down the silos and bring all of us together to solve our common healthcare problems. Please join me by adding your voice to support the work of Dr. Flamer and the Task Force to find new solutions to keep our community moving forward.
Tim Haskett is a geriatric nurse practitioner and member of the Senior News Community Advisory Council. Read May’s “Health in Humboldt 2026” report at humboldtseniornews.org.
Reach out to Dr. Keith Flamer at Keith-Flamer@Redwoods.edu.
