The Study of a Service Area

Valparaiso, with a population of 20,900 as of 1970, is a city which serves the inhabitants of Porter County in northwest Indiana. The exact variety and combination of its services are not duplicated anywhere else in the world. In addition to the expected municipal functions for a city of its size (e.g. street repair, police and fire protection, mail and newspaper deliveries, shopping, and recreation facilities), Valparaiso also performs functions that other towns in the immediate vicinity do not provide. Examples of such functions include serving as the county seat of Porter County; housing the only Lutheran university in the Midwest; and providing hospital care through the only hospital in Porter County. To define the service area or sphere of influence of a central place, it is essential to study individually those services that contribute substantially to the economic base of that place. When the boundaries of several service areas for a specific town are superimposed, a general picture of the entire area of dominance should emerge. This study is a partial attempt to discover the extent of Valparaiso's influence. The service chosen for consideration was health care, with particular emphasis on Porter Memorial Hospital. The major goal of researching this special function of Valparaiso was to determine the size and intensity of the health care service area as reflected through Porter Memorial Hospital.