Psychiatry in Idaho: the numbers

A holy-cow statistic from the Statehouse this morning: Idaho has one psychiatrist for every 20,000 residents.

That number came from Jeralyn Jones, a Boise psychiatrist and University of Washington associate professor. Jones testified before the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee Wednesday, discussing the State Board of Education’s psychiatry residency program. (More about the program from Betsy Russell of the Spokane Spokesman-Review.)

Here’s one way to look at that one-in-20,000 figure.

Idaho, with a population of roughly 1.6 million, has 105 legislators. Or one lawmaker for every 15,000 or so residents.

Kevin Richert

Kevin Richert

Senior reporter and blogger Kevin Richert specializes in education politics and education policy. He has more than 30 years of experience in Idaho journalism. He is a frequent guest on "Idaho Reports" on Idaho Public Television and "Idaho Matters" on Boise State Public Radio. Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KevinRichert. He can be reached at [email protected]

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