Q2 2020 – Walla Walla Trends Newsletter

Every aspect of life revolves around the act of learning. First, we learn to walk, then we learn to read. Eventually, between the ages of 18 and 34, young adults often choose to take an additional step to further their education. This higher education visualization ...

As you can imagine, there are countless data interactives on COVID-19 – we’ve shared them as well and will continue to do so only if we believe they are helpful to spreading the facts to help you make informed decisions. Why are data interactives so helpful?

One thing we can likely all agree on halfway through the year 2020 is very little appears average. Population growth or contraction are estimated using a variety of predictable variables so from one year to the next, there are not a lot of surprises. From decade to...

Part of the shared human experience is we all have times of joy and pleasure and at other times sickness and pain. But unique to each individual is how often, to what degree (positive or negative), and more importantly, the effect they might have. For example, nearly everyone has experienced times they could say they were very sick. Yet not everyone goes to a doctor’s office because of the illness and even...

No one deserves to live in poverty. Living in hardship is proven to be difficult, and it is only made tougher for those with children. Children can become physically and mentally affected by poverty. Since 2013, the United States, the State of Washington, as well as the Walla Walla MSA, consisting of both Walla Walla and Columbia county, have all seen a substantial reduction in poverty for children aged 0 to 17.

As the U.S. healthcare system continues to expand are the number of doctors keeping up with the population? This question is even more acute in communities with an increasing proportion of elderly and in rural settings where access and mobility can be limited. Walla Walla Trends indicator 4.4.2 scratches the surface of this notion by tracking the rate of licensed physicians per 1,000 residents.

If the corona virus epidemic has caused a re-ordering of trusted sources, the likely winner is our healthcare system. While the majority of the attention has been directed to the front-line players, and deservedly so, public health has also been center stage during the epidemic. Many of us have become eager consumers of the latest word from epidemiologists, disease specialists, nurses giving...