Collier County Best For Health

In a report released last week ranking the health of all 67 counties in the state of Florida, Collier County was first overall.   A first-of-its-kind report for Florida was released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.   The study provides a snapshot of how healthy a county’s residents are by comparing their overall health to that of people in other counties in their state.  The report ranks Florida counties according to their overall health outcomes, based on the number of premature deaths (mortality) as well as the percentage of low birth weights and self-reported physical and mental health (morbidity).  Equal weight is also given to counties’ overall health based on four factors: health behaviors; social and economic factors including education and community safety; physical environment including air quality, availability of healthy foods; and access to and quality of medical care. In addition to the overall measures, counties are also ranked on these specific health factors.  While earning the top spot overall, Collier was ranked 2nd best in Florida for mortality, 3^rd for morbidity, and 6^th for health behaviors.  Other factors available from the study show that 17% of adults in the county smoke compared to 21% state-wide, 71% of Collier residents are high school graduates (Florida is at 64%), and 30% have college degrees (25% for the state). The fact that Collier County’s violent crime rate was 40% below the state’s average was considered in the Social & Economic Factor section of the report.  The Physical Environment aspect of the study showed that there were no air pollution-ozone days and that access to healthy foods was 20% better than the state as a whole.  “The rankings are a way for public-health and community leaders to measure the health of their county so they can see how well they are doing and where they need to improve,” said Pat Remington, an associate dean at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and the report’s lead organizer.  Lee County finished 21^st in the state’s rankings, while Union County in northeast Florida came in last…http://ChrisAndDick.com