Athens County experiences a higher number of emergency room visits than other counties, said a health care official at yesterday’s Athens County Commissioners meeting. Maggie Neely, managing director of health and wellness programs with the County Commissioners Association of Ohio, reported that the amount of emergency room visits in Athens County is about 65 percent higher than the insurance group’s overall average. “We highly recommend that you curb your emergency room usage,” Neely said. Neely said that emergency room visits are more expensive than other forms of health care and noted that some of the ER visits could have been resolved through other, less expensive health care alternatives. “We do see people going with problems that should be handled in another environment,” she said. Neely mentioned sinus infections and sore throats as causes for some reported ER visits. Despite the high number of ER visits, Neely said that Athens is headed in the right direction with the health care consortium. She also expressed her satisfaction with citizens taking preemptive health care action. “I applaud the women of Athens County,” she said. More than 50 percent of women in the program received preventative care exams, but only one quarter of men in the target age group for certain illnesses sought preventative care. When the group meets to discuss rate changes in health coverage this Friday, Neely said that Athens can anticipate lower r ...
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