Dignity Health Community Need IndexTM

Observations

As stated by the Federal Reserve, “households that have little income left after paying rent may not be able to afford other necessities, such as food, clothes, health care, and transportation.”11

• Elk Mills (ZIP Code 21920) and Perry Point (ZIP Code 21902), two small communities, both reported 100 percent of households experiencing rent burden. • Elkton (ZIP Code 21921) had 55.6 percent of households experiencing rent burden and Warwick (ZIP Code 21912) had 66.7 percent, both exceeding the U.S. average of 49.1 percent. • Housing insecurity is known to have become more problematic due to the COVID19 pandemic.

Dignity Health Community Need IndexTM

Exhibit 20: Community Need IndexTM Score by ZIP Code

ZIP Code Town/Area CNI Score

21901 North East 21903 Perryville 21904 Port Deposit 21911 Rising Sun 21912 Warwick 21913 Cecilton 21914 Charlestown 21915 Chesapeake City 21917 Colora 21918 Conowingo 21919 Earleville 21921 Elkton

United States

2.8 2.6 2.8 2.4 2.6 2.6 2.0 2.4 2.0 1.8 1.6 3.2 3.0

Source: Dignity Health, 2021. Note: ZIP Codes with small population size are eliminated or included in surrounding areas.

11 Ibid.

Exhibit 21: Community Need Index™

Source: Dignity Health, 2021 and Caliper Maptitude, 2021.

Description Exhibits 20 and 21 present Community Need Index™ (CNI) scores. Higher scores (e.g., 4.2 to 5.0) indicate the highest levels of community need. The index is calibrated such that 3.0 represents a U.S.-wide median score. Light grey shading in Exhibit 20 indicates CNI scores that are above U.S. median score of 3.0.

Dignity Health developed the CNI to assess barriers to health care access. The index, available for every ZIP Code in the United States, consists of five social and economic indicators:

• The percentage of elders, children, and single parents living in poverty; • The percentage of adults over the age of 25 with limited English proficiency, and the percentage of the population that is non-White; • The percentage of the population without a high school diploma; • The percentage of uninsured and unemployed residents; and

• The percentage of the population renting houses. CNI scores are grouped into “Lowest Need” (1.0-1.7) to “Highest Need” (4.2-5.0) categories. Observations

• Elkton (ZIP Code 21921), with a CNI score of 3.2, is the only area in Cecil County that is above the U.S. median score of 3.0.

• No ZIP Codes in Cecil County are in the “Highest Need” category.