The 2011 County Health Rankings ranked San Bernardino County—which spans more than 20,000 square miles and a population of more than 2 million—50th out of 56 California counties in health factors like physical environment, social and economic factors, health behaviors and clinical care. The city of San Bernardino alone faces significant public health challenges, with a lower life expectancy, a higher homicide rate, and fewer parks and healthy food options than the rest of the state.
The 2011 County Health Rankings classified Desoto County as the healthiest county in Mississippi for health outcomes and the fifth-healthiest county for health factors, with lower unemployment rates, higher education rates and greater access to healthy food compared to the rest of the state.
Detroit, MI, is one of the most racially segregated cities in the country, with high crime, poverty and unemployment; poor public transportation; and vast food deserts that prevent residents from easily accessing healthy foods. In 2011, the County Health Rankings ranked Wayne County—where Detroit is located—81 out of 82 counties in Michigan for health outcomes and dead last for health factors.
Home to the University of Missouri, Columbia is considered one of the state’s most livable cities, with a number of educational, economic and cultural opportunities available. It is also the seat of Boone County, which ranked well according to the 2011 County Health Rankings—10th out of 114 counties in Missouri for health outcomes and 2nd for health factors.
In Davidson County, Mayor Karl Dean and public health officials are moving forward to make Nashville a healthier, more livable city by improving opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity.
Initiatives have ranged from transforming food options in schools and child care centers, to investing in sidewalks, parks, greenways, and a bike share program. A workplace wellness challenge is next on the list, along with expanding efforts to get healthy, fresh foods into neighborhood corner...
West Virginia has one of the highest obesity rates in the country and McDowell County is no exception, where more than a third of adults are obese. Here in this Appalachian coal-mining enclave in the southernmost tip of the state, a local community health center called the Tug River Health Association took an unusual step to combat this problem by offering its patients gym memberships.
Rockingham County, dubbed as North Carolina’s North Star, is nestled at the tip of the Northern Piedmont Triad region and cradled by the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Though Rockingham County is mostly rural (county size – 572 square miles with a population of approximately 93,063), its communities still offer small-town living balanced with 21st century amenities.
In Michigan, Health Director Mary Kushion seized Clare County’s poor performance in the County Health Rankings as an opportunity to host a public health summit and begin generating ideas for improving the health of the six counties served by the Central Michigan District Health Department.
At Center Point United Baptist Church in Lincoln County, West Virginia, 18 parishioners are feeling lighter than they did 11 weeks ago — 250 pounds lighter, to be exact. And it’s thanks, in part, to the 2010 County Health Rankings.
The weight-loss group, the brainchild of the church’s associate pastor Jason Cook, is just one example of the small-scale health-improvement efforts taking place in the community in the wake of the rankings.
When the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce first decided to get involved with improving health and wellness in Madison County, Tennessee, officials weren’t sure where to begin or how to determine which issues to tackle. But when chamber president Kyle Spurgeon saw the 2010 County Health Rankings, he saw that the area’s health conditions could be directly tied in to its economic prowess.
