MONROE - Green County was rated the 12th healthiest county in Wisconsin after nationwide health rankings were released late last month.
The rankings were released by the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps program, which is a collaboration between the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a health-focused philanthropic organization.
According to 2017's rankings, Green County was ranked 18th overall out of Wisconsin's 72 counties based on health outcomes and 12th based on health factors.
The former category is based on factors such as quality of life and the rate of premature death.
According to the data, which were provided by the National Center for Health Statistics, Green County's rate for premature death is lower than both the national and state averages, placing the county 17th in the state.
"People are living longer," said Green County Health Officer RoAnn Warden. "That's one of the improvement's we're most excited about."
However, the county rated 29th in the state in quality of life, with the number of survey respondents reporting poor physical health roughly equal to the state's average.
Green County's high ranking for health factors is largely based on the county's positive socioeconomic factors. Ninety-two percent of residents graduate high school, 4 percent higher than the state's average, only 3.8 percent of residents are unemployed (compared to the state's 4.6 percent), and 11 percent of children are in poverty, compared to the statewide average of 17 percent.
Warden said the presence of Monroe Clinic was also a significant factor in the county's positive rankings.
"We're fortunate to have a high-quality health care provider in the middle of the county," Warden said.
Lafayette County, on the other hand, rated 34th in the state for health outcomes, and 43rd for health factors. In particular, Lafayette County had a 35 percent rate of adult obesity, 5 percent more than the state average, and only a 28-percent rating for access to exercise opportunities, far below the state average of 81 percent.
Lafayette County also has one doctor for every 4,200 residents, while the average Wisconsin county has one doctor for every 1,200 residents.
Lafayette County Health Officer Annie Timmerman did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
This year's health outcomes rankings appear to be a reversal from the 2016 rankings: Last year, Green County ranked 33rd in health outcomes, while Lafayette County ranked 14th. This change appears to be the result of a methodological change in the ranking process, and the ranking reports caution against comparing this year's data with those of previous years.
The rankings were released by the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps program, which is a collaboration between the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a health-focused philanthropic organization.
According to 2017's rankings, Green County was ranked 18th overall out of Wisconsin's 72 counties based on health outcomes and 12th based on health factors.
The former category is based on factors such as quality of life and the rate of premature death.
According to the data, which were provided by the National Center for Health Statistics, Green County's rate for premature death is lower than both the national and state averages, placing the county 17th in the state.
"People are living longer," said Green County Health Officer RoAnn Warden. "That's one of the improvement's we're most excited about."
However, the county rated 29th in the state in quality of life, with the number of survey respondents reporting poor physical health roughly equal to the state's average.
Green County's high ranking for health factors is largely based on the county's positive socioeconomic factors. Ninety-two percent of residents graduate high school, 4 percent higher than the state's average, only 3.8 percent of residents are unemployed (compared to the state's 4.6 percent), and 11 percent of children are in poverty, compared to the statewide average of 17 percent.
Warden said the presence of Monroe Clinic was also a significant factor in the county's positive rankings.
"We're fortunate to have a high-quality health care provider in the middle of the county," Warden said.
Lafayette County, on the other hand, rated 34th in the state for health outcomes, and 43rd for health factors. In particular, Lafayette County had a 35 percent rate of adult obesity, 5 percent more than the state average, and only a 28-percent rating for access to exercise opportunities, far below the state average of 81 percent.
Lafayette County also has one doctor for every 4,200 residents, while the average Wisconsin county has one doctor for every 1,200 residents.
Lafayette County Health Officer Annie Timmerman did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
This year's health outcomes rankings appear to be a reversal from the 2016 rankings: Last year, Green County ranked 33rd in health outcomes, while Lafayette County ranked 14th. This change appears to be the result of a methodological change in the ranking process, and the ranking reports caution against comparing this year's data with those of previous years.