Salina, KS– Saline County ranks 44th for Health Behaviors in the state for 2015, an increase from a ranking of 50 in 2014.
Health Behaviors include rates for smoking, obesity, physical inactivity and access to exercise opportunities to name a few. Saline County dropped in the rankings from 62 to 72 in Health Outcomes which consist of length of life and quality of life.
For 2015, Riley County ranked as the healthiest county in Kansas and Woodson County ranked as the least healthiest county, according to the sixth annual County Health Rankings, released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UWPHI). The Rankings are available at www.countyhealthrankings.org.
The Rankings are an easy-to-use snapshot comparing the health of nearly every county in the nation. The local-level 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.
According to the 2015 Rankings, the five healthiest counties in Kansas, starting with most healthy, are Riley, followed by Johnson, Pottawatomie, Stevens, and Jewell. The five areas in the poorest health, starting with least healthy, are Woodson, Decatur, Cherokee, Greenwood, and Labette.
Supported by the Healthy Communities Initiative (HCI) five-year grant from the Kansas Health Foundation, the Live Well Saline County, a local health coalition in Saline County, is dedicated to improving the health and vitality of citizens in Salina by encouraging healthy behaviors in the areas of physical activity and healthy eating.
“The County Health Rankings help to show us where we are doing well and areas that we can work to improve in. In terms of Health Behaviors Saline County was ranked 44th which is an improvement from 50th in 2014 and 72nd in 2012. The Live Well Saline County Coalition will continue to work with organizations in our community to make it easier for community members to make healthy lifestyle choices,” said Daniel Craig of the Live Well Coalition.
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. The least healthy counties in each state have more smokers, more teen births, and more alcohol related car crash deaths. This report also looks at distribution in income and the links between income levels and health.
The Rankings also reveal several trends on a national level, such as one out of four children in the U.S. lives in poverty. Child poverty rates are more than twice as high in the unhealthiest counties in each state than in the healthiest counties.
“The County Health Rankings have helped galvanize communities across the nation to improve health,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, RWJF president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program offers data, tools, and resources to help communities throughout their journey to build a culture of health at www.countyhealthrankings.org.