The Adirondack region of New York State is dominated by the Adirondack Park, 6.1 million acres of both publically and privately owned land designated as “forever wild.” Closely regulated land use and development, rugged terrain, and low population density contribute in part to limited employment opportunities, poverty, an aging population, and a shortage of health care providers. Primary care and specialty physicians and home health care aides are in short supply in many Adirondack counties. Governmental and non-profit organizations have initiated a number of programs to improve access to health care including expanded programs to train health care workers at regional colleges and universities, school loan forgiveness programs to attract physicians to work in rural areas, and services to obtain affordable insurance. Periodically, the New York State Board of Regents publishes a listing of those counties and hospitals that are experiencing shortages of various types of health care providers.

In the case “Health Care Costs for Newborns in Adirondack Hospitals” we conducted an exploratory data analysis of inpatient hospital stays for newborns in the Adirondack region of New York. The goal was to identify factors that were potential predictors of the total costs associated with the newborn hospital stays. In this case, we will look at newborn data for the Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital, located in Clinton County that was designated in 2013 as having both primary and non-primary care shortages.