Dr. John A. Capitman, executive director of the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at Fresno State, discusses the health of San Joaquin Valley residents in this podcast recently posted on San Joaquin Valleyfornia. You can listen to the podcast by clicking here. Mike Lukens, who runs the Valleyfornia blog, reports that Capitam is troubled by our health numbers, especially the indicators that suggest there's little evidence of positive change coming in the near future.

Capitman is co-author of the Health Policy Institute’s latest report, “Healthy People 2010: A 2007 Profile of Health Status in the San Joaquin Valley.” His assessment is one that policymakers need to take into account as they do health planning. Because of the Valley's demographics, this region is not well suited to solve its health problems on its own. Access to health care and the lack of health insurance by too many residents add to an already stressed health care system in the Valley.

Valley leaders must be more aggressive in educating residents about how to handle their health issues, and policymakers need to pursue state and federal programs and policies that could help solve the region's health crisis.