Loading ...The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation today released new county-by-county health ratings for most counties across the country. The rankings for Alabama aren’t surprising, but the variety of factors considered helps us understand the differences among counties within Alabama.
RWJF offers a target value for each measure (the 90% value = only 10% of counties measured did better), and Shelby County performs well against all targets, save air pollution. Just to get an idea of the range, here are some measures comparing the highest and lowest performing counties in Alabama:
Premature Death (Years of potential life lost before age 75, per 100,000)
#1 Shelby County – 6,604
#67 Perry County – 15,808
Poor or Fair Health (% of citizens self-reporting poor or fair health)
#1 Shelby County – 11%
#67 Fayette County – 32%
Preventable Hospital Stays (per 1,000 Medicare patients)
#1 Macon County – 56
#67 Conecuh County - 273
Children in Poverty (% of children living below the poverty line)
#1 Shelby County – 9%
#67 Wilcox County – 47%
What the map shows is once again, when you’re looking at needs from a health standpoint, the black belt counties are high on the list. It’s also interesting that along with Shelby County, many of the counties in the top tier are near the borders with Tennessee, Florida and Georgia. You also have big shifts in neighboring counties. Particularly striking to me is that Baldwin County ranks 3rd in Health Outcomes, while neighboring Mobile County is 42nd. Lamar County is another interesting study as it stands at 17, while its neighbors are 36th, 43rd and 59th.
The researchers who assembled this information came to similar conclusions,
The Rankings show that people who live in healthier counties tend to have higher education levels, are more likely to be employed, have access to more health care providers, and have more access to healthier foods, parks and recreational facilities.
In addition, the Rankings show sharp health disparities even in counties located right next to each other. For example, someone living in Chester County, Pennsylvania, which ranked highest in the state for overall health, has a better shot at staying healthy than a resident of nearby Delaware County, which ranked 36th out of 67 and has higher rates of smoking, adult obesity and violent crime, and higher numbers of children living in poverty.
“These Rankings demonstrate that health happens where we live, learn, work and play. And much of what influences how healthy we are and how long we live happens outside the doctor’s office,” says Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “People, no matter where they live, should have the best possible opportunity to be healthy.”
We have a lot of needs in Alabama, but with limited resources also has to come the understanding that we need to put the focus where our needs are greatest. We can’t just throw up our hands and say the problems are too great when we look at statewide comparisons, with more localized information, the areas where more work is needed become evident.
And when I talk about work and intervention, I’m not necessarily speaking about government interventions. Along with being the healthiest county, Shelby County is also the richest, most educated and has the lowest unemployment rate in the state. Economic development, better education options and creating wealth are as important as any governmental assistance program we can offer.
A big thanks to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for their amazing work and for providing us with this information to discuss with our state and local leaders. Your comments are appreciated below.
UPDATE: The Birmingham News picked up this story this morning as well.
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