Overview of Palm Beach County

Palm Beach County ranks at number three among the most populated county in the state of Florida with a population of 1,344,918 according to the 2010 census. The county seat is West Palm Beach, and this doubles up as the largest city in the county. The county was formed in the year 1909 after it was split from Dade County but the boundaries were formed in the year 1963; its name comes from one of the oldest settlements Palm Beach (Sheehan, 2013). The county forms part of Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Florida metropolitan area. The population of the area has been on a steady increase since 1894 partly due to the incorporation of the West Palm Beach and the extension of the Florida East Coast Railway and partly because of the construction of the Royal Poinciana Hotel, The Breakers, and the Whitehall. On the other hand, the area had received its share of challenges and one of the major challenges is the Okeechobee hurricane that led to thousands of deaths.

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Palm Beach County also proves to be the richest county in Florida as of 2004 with a per capita personal income of 44, 518 dollars. About 10,000 years ago, Native American started to migrate into Florida and the major tribes that settling in the county includes Ais, Calusas, Mayaimis, Jaegas, and Tequestas. The great migration made the county be so populated that by the time the Spanish arrived in the county, the county had a population of about 20,000 Native Americans. With the total population of 1,344,918 according to the 2010 census, the males were 650,503 while the females were found to be 694, 415 (Maurice, 2014). Moreover, there has been a steady increase in the population because percentage of population change was 18.9 percent since 2000 and 1.9 percent since 2010.

The 2010 census also reveals some specific information about the population of the Palm Beach County and one is the status of occupational employment in the county. In this manner, the population employed in the white collar job sector is 383,046 forming 63.7 percent of those employed while those in the blue collar job sector is 218,327 making 36.3 percent. Statistics on the number of households revealed that there were a total number of 570, 669 households in the county and among these were 361, 040 family households and 209,629 non-family households. The households with children were found to be 157,108 while those without were 413, 561. Additionally, the 2010 census revealed that the average number of people per household were 2.32 (Afshar-Mohajer, 2016). The collection on the educational statistics on the county was also done and revealed that the individuals that did not acquire a high school education were 54, 927, those that had high school education were 71, 238 and those with a college education were 197, 334.

The census on the educational status of the population also proved that the individuals that had acquired associate degree were 75, 524, those that had bachelors degree were 192, 584 and those that possessed graduate degree were 112, 184. The 2010 census also put great focus into the marital status in Palm Beach County. In this relation, the individuals that were found to have never been married were 300, 409, the married were 459, 592, the separated were, 52, 495, the widowed 41, 239 and the divorced were 107,797. Data into the household income and the media income of the population of the Palm Beach County also proved that the median income under was 34, 315 dollars and median income between 25 and 44 was 46, 431 dollars. Additionally, the medium income between 45 and 64 was found to be 64, 454 dollars and median income over 65 was 53, 734 dollars (County, 2014). The environmental and occupational hazards in the county in the county are such as fire from explosions, blasts from compressed gas, corrosive chemicals, and various explosive substances.

Vulnerable populations

There are various vulnerable populations in Palm Beach County, and that require keen analysis and the evaluation of the social status of vulnerable populations and the identification of possible solutions to the challenges that they face. The most vulnerable populations in Palm Beach County are the homeless individuals. However, the percentage of the homeless individuals in the county has decreased by 9 percent since 2010 from 1559 to 1421 (Sheehan, 2013). The decrease in the numbers of the vulnerable populations is because there have been services offered towards the construction of houses for such individuals. Re-housing of the homeless has been the main priority for Palm Beach Countys Division of Human Services putting main focus in moving them to permanent houses. The second group of vulnerable population in Palm Beach County is the unemployed. Despite the fact that the unemployment rate being alarming to the county, the rate of unemployment has decrease from 7 percent in 2013 to 5 percent in 2015. The decline is attributed to the fervent sensitization of the populations to start income generating activities in the county and efforts by the county to increase employment opportunities for the individuals (Maurice, 2014). Furthermore, there have been plans to discourage the population from recidivism to encourage engagement in productive activities in the county and the greater Florida state.

Impact on Nursing

There are various nursing opportunities in Palm Beach County, and that seek to alleviate the challenges that the vulnerable populations face. Moreover, the opportunities seek to ensure that the provide solutions to the occupational and environmental hazards in the county with the view of improving the safety of the citizens. In this manner, the nurses in the county prove to be of great importance to the citizens in the county as they help in facilitating sustainable development. One of the major duties that the nurses in the county have is to deliver quality care to the people injured in their line of work and helping in encouraging clean air programs. Moreover, the nurses provide advice on the health challenges that the homeless face. Moreover, there are dietary bits of advice that are offered to prevent malnutrition in the county. Furthermore, the services that the nurses offer ensure that there are member-centric approaches to reach specific people affected by the environmental and occupational hazards (Afshar-Mohajer, 2016). The Clinical Quality Consultant also engages in monitoring and supporting health plan quality improvement initiatives to ensure that the health programs comply with state and federal regulations.

Summary

Nurses in Palm Beach County have great importance in the county as they help in reducing the number of accidents in the county and helping to maintain a safe and clean environment to work in (County, 2014). The decrease in the rate of unemployment in the county is as a result of improved efficiency and compliance with the regulations and standards that championed by the nurses and further leads to decrease in the rate of homelessness in the county.

References

Afshar-Mohajer, N., Wilson, C., Wu, C. Y., & Stormer, J. (2016). Source apportionment of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Palm Beach County, Florida. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, (just-accepted).

County, P. B. (2014). Its Okay to Get Help!. Group, 1, 2.

Maurice Tobon, P. E., & Yates, D. (2014). Water Operator Twinning Partnership between Palm Beach County Water Utilities Department and Manila Water Concessionaires on Planning for Climate Change Impacts.

Sheehan, D. (2013). Palm Beach County Survey and Modification of an Educational Program for Nurse Practitioners Regarding Screening of Colorectal Cancer (Doctoral dissertation, Barry University).