The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, released today the eighth iteration of County Health Rankings, a comprehensive annual report that ranks the overall health of nearly every county across all 50 states by way of a standardized methodology to measure health factors and health outcomes. Health factor ranking is based on health behaviors, clinical care, social and economical factors, and the physical environment, while health outcome ranking is based on both length of life and quality of life. Lake County General Health District (LCGHD) is pleased to announce that Lake County remains in the top tier of Ohio’s 88 counties with respect to both health outcomes and health factors.
Overall, Lake County fell from 13th (2018) to 17th (2019) in health outcomes, and from 9th (2018) to 12th (2019) in health factors. According to County Health Rankings, an increase in premature death, alcohol-impaired driving deaths, sexually transmitted infections, children living in poverty, and violent crime were largely responsible for the slide in rankings from 2018. LCGHD Health Commissioner Ron H. Graham commented, “While we are disappointed to see a fall in the rankings, increases in premature death, alcohol-impaired driving deaths, and sexually transmitted disease have been on the rise for some time now. These results reiterate the importance of prevention-focused public health programming, and will implore the health district to do more. With that being said, caution should be taken when interpreting this data as a current reflection of Lake County’s health, as a number of these measures, undoubtedly the most current available, are based on data that may be three or four years old, or otherwise aggregated. This is not a new phenomenon, and enhanced timeliness of data is currently the focus of several projects here at the health district”.
Despite the following concerns, there are a number of positive Lake County trends to report, including reductions in airborne particulate matter and increased physical activity rates, as well as expanded health insurance coverage, availability of dental services, and mammography screening. “Health is a moving target, and the health district is constantly pushing to stay a step ahead of emerging health disparities. One example of these efforts is the joint community health assessment being conducted by the health district this year on behalf of LCGHD and Lake Health” noted Graham. “It takes a village, and in this case a county, to ensure that residents are attaining their full health potential, both now and across the lifespan”.
You can explore the rankings further at www.countyhealthrankings.org. For more information regarding LCGHD, visit our website at www.lcghd.org.
