Community Stories

Health improvement efforts from around the country

How data can inspire a community: Starke County, IN

December 12, 2016

Starke County, Indiana, is a rural county that is home to 23,197 people. Despite Starke County’s small size, it’s also a community that is...

United Way of Greater Atlanta: Data-Driven Partnerships to Increase Access to Health Care

February 27, 2015

In a community as large and diverse as Atlanta, the County Health Rankings are a valuable source of data that helps to inform the...

Changing the Trajectory of High-needs Families: United Way of Central Ohio

February 5, 2015

The County Health Rankings are based on a model of population health that emphasizes the many factors that, if improved, can help make communities...

Connecting the Dots in Fulton County, GA: Working Together to Save Lives

May 10, 2013

According to the 2013 County Health Rankings, Fulton County, Georgia ranks 29 out of 156 on overall health, yet 55,000 adults and 25,000 children...

The Power of Relationships: Rapid Response to a Youth Suicide Cluster

March 13, 2013

Known as Washington State's gateway to the Pacific Islands and the Olympic Peninsula, Grays Harbor County, a mostly rural community, is grappling with effects...

PART I: Empowering the Grassroots in Holmes County, MS

March 11, 2013

When Dr. Detra Bishop, Pastor, pulled into the John Wesley United Methodist Church parking lot in the middle of the week she couldn’t believe...

Detroit, MI: Joy-Southfield Neighborhood Unites to Tackle Chronic Disease, Poverty and Other Barriers to Health

April 3, 2012

Detroit, MI, is one of the most racially segregated cities in the country, with high crime, poverty and unemployment; poor public transportation; and vast...

Fostering a Culture of Health and Wellness in Hernando, Miss.

April 3, 2012

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...

Rockingham County, North Carolina Establishes Task Force to Identify the Root Causes of Its Poor Health Rankings, Develops Recommendations

July 11, 2011

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...

Part I: Laying a Foundation for Addressing Obesity and Women’s Health Issues in Clare County

June 14, 2011

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...