Hillsdale County health ranked 29th
Jancy Nightingale
Issue date: 3/11/10 Section: News
The non-profit County Health Rankings ranked Hillsdale County 29th out of 82 Michigan counties for a variety of health factors.
The organization's rankings for overall health outcome measure mortality and morbidity, and for 56th in health factors which include health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment.
The organization's press release mentioned the following key factors that affect health that they used in the rankings: smoking, obesity, binge drinking, access to primary care providers, rates of high school graduation, rates of violent crime, air pollution levels, liquor store density, unemployment rates and number of children living in poverty.
"We excited how much people are talking about the rankings," Karen Odegaard, a health research assistant with the research group, said.
John Robertson, tri-county health educator and promoter for Branch, Hillsdale and St. Joseph Counties, sees the rankings as a good starting point as well.
He gave credit to the study for sparking discussion at the county level, where they're asking what the data means to locals.
"We all need to decide who's doing what, and who's doing the best," he said, referring to different county health practices.
"That only makes sense and if they can point it out to us, then it's good," he said.
He said Hillsdale fared better than the other two local counties in the rankings.
"My take on it was: what can the two learn from Hillsdale?" Robertson said.
Steve Todd, tri-county health officer for the three counties, objected to the use of fairly old data, back to 2006.
"Quite a few things change in that time period," he said. One indicator he mentioned was the number of people that have lost their health insurance over time.
"That has changed rapidly in the last year, and it wasn't taken into account," Todd said.
Odegaard encourages people to provide feedback, to improve future research.
"We've been very open to hearing about different things to add," she said. "Ideally, this will be a useful tool for counties."
That's exactly how Todd sees it, adding that the study shouldn't be overemphasized.
"It's just another study, it's not an end-all study," Todd said. "I think it shows the importance of what individuals can do to improve their individual wellness. When you read those, think: What are you doing to contribute to these rankings?"
The organization's rankings for overall health outcome measure mortality and morbidity, and for 56th in health factors which include health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment.
The organization's press release mentioned the following key factors that affect health that they used in the rankings: smoking, obesity, binge drinking, access to primary care providers, rates of high school graduation, rates of violent crime, air pollution levels, liquor store density, unemployment rates and number of children living in poverty.
"We excited how much people are talking about the rankings," Karen Odegaard, a health research assistant with the research group, said.
John Robertson, tri-county health educator and promoter for Branch, Hillsdale and St. Joseph Counties, sees the rankings as a good starting point as well.
He gave credit to the study for sparking discussion at the county level, where they're asking what the data means to locals.
"We all need to decide who's doing what, and who's doing the best," he said, referring to different county health practices.
"That only makes sense and if they can point it out to us, then it's good," he said.
He said Hillsdale fared better than the other two local counties in the rankings.
"My take on it was: what can the two learn from Hillsdale?" Robertson said.
Steve Todd, tri-county health officer for the three counties, objected to the use of fairly old data, back to 2006.
"Quite a few things change in that time period," he said. One indicator he mentioned was the number of people that have lost their health insurance over time.
"That has changed rapidly in the last year, and it wasn't taken into account," Todd said.
Odegaard encourages people to provide feedback, to improve future research.
"We've been very open to hearing about different things to add," she said. "Ideally, this will be a useful tool for counties."
That's exactly how Todd sees it, adding that the study shouldn't be overemphasized.
"It's just another study, it's not an end-all study," Todd said. "I think it shows the importance of what individuals can do to improve their individual wellness. When you read those, think: What are you doing to contribute to these rankings?"
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