Few things are as vital to building a strong community as having healthy citizens. On that count, there was good news Green County this week and a cautionary tale from neighboring Lafayette County.
For the fourth straight year, Green County's rank among healthy Wisconsin communities has improved in 2008, according to the sixth annual University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute report released Thursday. Green County ranked 16th among Wisconsin's 72 counties and the City of Milwaukee in terms of "health outcomes," which is based on the number of people who die before age 75 and on the percentage of people who report being in fair or poor health.
The No. 16 ranking is eight better than where Green County was last year (No. 24) and is significantly improved over the No. 43 ranking the county received in 2004. This year, only about 1-in-10 county residents (10.5 percent) reported being in fair or poor health. That's an improvement from 12 percent in 2007 and is nearly 3 percentage points lower than the state average (13.2 percent).
Green County also has continued to improve in health determinants, improving from No. 24 in rank last year to No. 20 this year. According to the report, cigarette smoking has dropped (from 20.6 percent of the population last year to 16.7 percent this year), as has physical inactivity (from 50.8 percent to 41.8 percent).
It is no coincidence that the county's health ranking improvements have coincided with the efforts of the Green County Health Department and groups such as the Healthy Communities Coalition's efforts to raise awareness of issues that need addressing. Those involved should feel a sense of reward in the county's scores.
The news isn't all good in Green County, of course. The percentage of people with no health insurance increased from 12.6 percent to 12.9 percent in the past year. Obesity has increased, as has binge drinking and the violent crime rate.
And there is a strong note of caution coming from Lafayette County, where its ranking in health outcomes dropped for the fourth consecutive year - from No. 34 to No. 48. That caution is that no matter what efforts are made in health education and programs, economic factors are the most important. Lafayette County Health Department Director Debbie Siegenthaler said the outcomes continue to drop despite an emphasis on healthy lifestyle choices.
And the report seems to bear that out, as Lafayette County ranks No. 4 (it was No. 3 last year) in health determinants.
With the economic outlook for 2009 gloomy, to say the least, keeping people healthy will become a tougher job in Green County and everywhere else.
For the fourth straight year, Green County's rank among healthy Wisconsin communities has improved in 2008, according to the sixth annual University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute report released Thursday. Green County ranked 16th among Wisconsin's 72 counties and the City of Milwaukee in terms of "health outcomes," which is based on the number of people who die before age 75 and on the percentage of people who report being in fair or poor health.
The No. 16 ranking is eight better than where Green County was last year (No. 24) and is significantly improved over the No. 43 ranking the county received in 2004. This year, only about 1-in-10 county residents (10.5 percent) reported being in fair or poor health. That's an improvement from 12 percent in 2007 and is nearly 3 percentage points lower than the state average (13.2 percent).
Green County also has continued to improve in health determinants, improving from No. 24 in rank last year to No. 20 this year. According to the report, cigarette smoking has dropped (from 20.6 percent of the population last year to 16.7 percent this year), as has physical inactivity (from 50.8 percent to 41.8 percent).
It is no coincidence that the county's health ranking improvements have coincided with the efforts of the Green County Health Department and groups such as the Healthy Communities Coalition's efforts to raise awareness of issues that need addressing. Those involved should feel a sense of reward in the county's scores.
The news isn't all good in Green County, of course. The percentage of people with no health insurance increased from 12.6 percent to 12.9 percent in the past year. Obesity has increased, as has binge drinking and the violent crime rate.
And there is a strong note of caution coming from Lafayette County, where its ranking in health outcomes dropped for the fourth consecutive year - from No. 34 to No. 48. That caution is that no matter what efforts are made in health education and programs, economic factors are the most important. Lafayette County Health Department Director Debbie Siegenthaler said the outcomes continue to drop despite an emphasis on healthy lifestyle choices.
And the report seems to bear that out, as Lafayette County ranks No. 4 (it was No. 3 last year) in health determinants.
With the economic outlook for 2009 gloomy, to say the least, keeping people healthy will become a tougher job in Green County and everywhere else.
