Infant mortality for 2000 was 9.2 per 1,000 live births. With an overall death rate of 902 per 100,000 residents (higher than the national average), Delaware had lower death rates than the nation as a whole for heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, motor vehicle accidents, and suicide, but higher death rates for accidents, chronic liver and pulmonary diseases. Many of Delaware's residents 18 years of age and older (approximately 23%) were smokers in 2000. In 2000, the HIV-related death rate (8.9 per 100,000 population) was much higher than the US rate (5.3 per 100,000 population); 2,827 AIDS cases had been reported through 2001.
Delaware's five community hospitals had 83,047 admissions and 1,853 beds in 2001. There were 2,820 full-time registered nurses and 210 full-time licensed practical nurses in 2001 and 261 physicians per 100,000 population in that same year. The average expense of a community hospital for care was $1,317.60 per inpatient day.
Federal government grants to cover the Medicare and Medicaid services in 2001 totaled $332 million; 113,967 enrollees received Medicare benefits that year. At least 9.2% of the population was uninsured in 2002.