MADISON - Green County ranks in the middle of the pack for health in the state, according to the annual County Health Rankings released recently by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The rankings are available at www.countyhealthrankings.org.
"While we have taken important steps to improve the health of our community, there is more we can do to help our residents live healthier lives," said RoAnn Warden, Green County health officer. "In the 2015 County Health Rankings, Green County ranks in the middle on overall health - 28 out of 72 -compared with other counties in Wisconsin. The rankings provide us with an opportunity to make people aware of steps we are taking to improve the health of our residents, like implementing the Mental Health First Aid Training and Drug Drop Box programs in Green County."
The rankings are a snapshot comparing the health of nearly every county in the nation. Local data allows each state to see how its counties compare on 30 factors that influence health, including education, housing, violent crime, jobs, diet, and exercise.
The five healthiest counties in Wisconsin, starting with the most healthy, are Ozaukee, followed by Pepin, Calumet, Florence and Kewaunee. The five counties in the poorest health, starting with the least healthy, are Menominee, Milwaukee, Forest, Washburn and Rusk.
"Since the County Health Rankings began in Wisconsin more than a decade ago, we've seen them serve as a rallying point for change," said Karen Timberlake, director of UWPHI in the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. "Communities are using the rankings to inform their priorities as they work to improve health for all their residents."
Green County ranks in the top half for health outcomes (28) and in the top quarter for health factors (11). Green ranks in the top quarter of Wisconsin counties for health behaviors (9) and social and economic factors (15), and in the top half for clinical care (19). Green County ranks near the middle for physical environment (39).
Nationally, this year's rankings show that the healthiest counties in each state have higher college attendance, fewer preventable hospital stays, and better access to parks and gyms than the least healthy counties. The least healthy counties in each state have more smokers, more teen births, and more alcohol-related car crash deaths. This year's rankings also look at the links between income levels, income distribution, and health.
The rankings also reveal the following:
• Premature death rates are dropping, with 60 percent of the nation's counties seeing declines. But for many counties, these rates are not improving - 40 percent of counties are not making progress in reducing premature death.
• One out of four children in the U.S. lives in poverty. Child poverty rates are more than twice as high in the least healthy counties in each state than in the healthiest counties.
• Violent crime rates are highest in the South. Violent crime rates, which affect health, well-being, and stress levels, are particularly high in the Southwest, Southeast, and Mississippi Delta regions.
• Having a job influences health. Unemployment rates are 1.5 times higher in the least healthy counties in each state than in the healthiest counties. During the recession, counties in the West, Southeast, and Rust Belt regions of the U.S. were hit hardest by growing unemployment. Many, but not all, of these counties have seen their unemployment rates drop since the recession ended in 2010.
"While we have taken important steps to improve the health of our community, there is more we can do to help our residents live healthier lives," said RoAnn Warden, Green County health officer. "In the 2015 County Health Rankings, Green County ranks in the middle on overall health - 28 out of 72 -compared with other counties in Wisconsin. The rankings provide us with an opportunity to make people aware of steps we are taking to improve the health of our residents, like implementing the Mental Health First Aid Training and Drug Drop Box programs in Green County."
The rankings are a snapshot comparing the health of nearly every county in the nation. Local data allows each state to see how its counties compare on 30 factors that influence health, including education, housing, violent crime, jobs, diet, and exercise.
The five healthiest counties in Wisconsin, starting with the most healthy, are Ozaukee, followed by Pepin, Calumet, Florence and Kewaunee. The five counties in the poorest health, starting with the least healthy, are Menominee, Milwaukee, Forest, Washburn and Rusk.
"Since the County Health Rankings began in Wisconsin more than a decade ago, we've seen them serve as a rallying point for change," said Karen Timberlake, director of UWPHI in the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. "Communities are using the rankings to inform their priorities as they work to improve health for all their residents."
Green County ranks in the top half for health outcomes (28) and in the top quarter for health factors (11). Green ranks in the top quarter of Wisconsin counties for health behaviors (9) and social and economic factors (15), and in the top half for clinical care (19). Green County ranks near the middle for physical environment (39).
Nationally, this year's rankings show that the healthiest counties in each state have higher college attendance, fewer preventable hospital stays, and better access to parks and gyms than the least healthy counties. The least healthy counties in each state have more smokers, more teen births, and more alcohol-related car crash deaths. This year's rankings also look at the links between income levels, income distribution, and health.
The rankings also reveal the following:
• Premature death rates are dropping, with 60 percent of the nation's counties seeing declines. But for many counties, these rates are not improving - 40 percent of counties are not making progress in reducing premature death.
• One out of four children in the U.S. lives in poverty. Child poverty rates are more than twice as high in the least healthy counties in each state than in the healthiest counties.
• Violent crime rates are highest in the South. Violent crime rates, which affect health, well-being, and stress levels, are particularly high in the Southwest, Southeast, and Mississippi Delta regions.
• Having a job influences health. Unemployment rates are 1.5 times higher in the least healthy counties in each state than in the healthiest counties. During the recession, counties in the West, Southeast, and Rust Belt regions of the U.S. were hit hardest by growing unemployment. Many, but not all, of these counties have seen their unemployment rates drop since the recession ended in 2010.