County Health Ranking Improves in 2012

Poweshiek County ranked as the 20th healthiest county out of 99 counties in Iowa, according to a nationwide report released by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

“Poweshiek County improved in the overall health ranking, up from 23^rd in 2011. This year’s ranking recognizes our successes as well as identifies opportunities for improvement in the health of our county’s residents,” said Patty Hinrichs, Grinnell Regional Public Health director.

The County Health Ranking has two components:
1) overall health outcomes (such as premature death rates, low birthweights, and poor health days); and
2) health factors, such as             health behaviors (obesity, smoking, activity, alcohol consumption, teen pregnancy),              clinical care (uninsured, primary care physicians per population, diabetic screening, mammography screening),

social and economic factors (high school graduation, unemployment, children in poverty, violent crime rate), and

physical environment (air pollution-ozone days, access to recreational facilities, limited access to healthy foods, and fast food restaurants per population).

In the 2012 report, Poweshiek County made a significant increase in the health factors by ranking 25^th compared to 39^th in the 2011 report.

 “While we know these rankings are only a snapshot in time and not a complete picture of Poweshiek County’s health, we take them seriously,” Hinrichs says. “We’ll use the rankings in conjunction with other community health assessment and planning efforts to find the best ways to build on our successes and address our challenges. In particular, Poweshiek County Public Health received a County Transformation Grant to address specific health risks and behaviors present in the county. The two areas of greatest concern are adult obesity and lack of physical activity. The transformation grant addresses these as well as a higher than average incidence of colon cancer.”

The County Ranking Report identified several improvements overall:

                        2012                            2011

Health Outcomes        20                                23

Health Factors            25                                39

           

Measures with positive improvements in 2012 were:

• A decrease in the number of adults smoking – 18 percent in the 2012 report compared to 21 percent in the 2011 report.

• A decrease in the number of preventable hospital stays per 1,000 Medicare enrollees – the 2012 report indicates 62 versus 77 in the 2011 report.

• A decrease in the number of uninsured residents – 9 percent in 2012 compared to 12 percent in 2011.

• An increase in the number of individuals receiving diabetes screening – 87 percent in 2012 compared to 80 percent in 2011.

Areas that had a negative change in the 2012 report were:

• An increase in adult obesity to 31 percent of residents, up from 29 percent in 2011.

• An increase in the number of sexually transmitted diseases.

“Our county excelled in the clinical care factors; for example mammogram screenings, diabetic screenings, and preventable hospital stays. In the 2012 report, the county ranked 10^th up from 14^th in 2011. This is a direct correlation to the quality and breadth of services affiliated with Grinnell Regional Medical Center and programs with public health,” Hinrichs says.

The County Health Rankings were compiled by taking into account a range of health factors, including healthy behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment. The County Health Rankings were developed through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

For more information about the County Health Rankings, visit www.countyhealthrankings.org/. For information about public health in Poweshiek County, visit www.grmc.us/wellness/public.html or call 641-236-2385.