The Use of Medical Facilities for Cerebrovascular Disease Patients in a County of Western Pennsylvania

A survey of hospital, nursing home, and death certificate records, arid interviews with local physicians were undertaken in a county of 201,000 population. Data from these sources indicate that the incidence of cerebrovascular disease episodes requiring medical care is somewhat higher (particularly among the aged) than the incidence of cerebrovascular disease reported in the United States population. Each year, 385 patients per 100,000 population sought medical care for cerebrovascular disease; 37% of these patients died. One county resident in eight could expect to require care for cerebrovascular disease in the decade after his retirement. To care for the affected patients, one in 20 of the county's hospital beds and one in three of its nursing home beds were required. Including only the most easily identified direct costs, the care of patients with stroke in 1971 required $2,100 per patient and a yearly expenditure of $688,000 per 100,000 population.