A report issued by the Robert Wood Foundation and the University of Wisconsin has ranked Caroline County last in the state  in clinical care quality, defined as access to care and its quality.  The report also identifies the county as 21st in health factors and 19th in health outcomes.  Caroline is the only county in the state without an urgent care facility.

The findings of the study highlight the county’s need for an urgent care facility, as well as a larger emphasis on the county’s overall health outlook.  The Star Democrat reports on Caroline County Commissioner Larry Porter’s response:

“Statistics like these make me very angry. I think they should make all of us angry,” said Porter at the commissioners’ meeting Tuesday evening.

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“I think it’s becoming more and more obvious to me that we need to move on this as quickly as we can,” said Porter.

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Porter said all the legislative delegates representing Caroline County have responded favorably to his goal to have an emergency care facility in the county. “The people in Caroline County will know who was on our team and who wasn’t before it’s all over,” he said.

Ghrist suggested that the county issue a legislative request to the delegates to remove the state’s moratorium on building new freestanding medical facilities.