Community Stories

Health improvement efforts from around the country

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...

Making Changes by Focusing on What Works

November 26, 2013

For county health officers, sometimes raising awareness isn’t enough. To make lasting change, focusing on programs and initiatives that are proven to be successful...

Mason County, WA: Building a Roadmap to Better Health by Investing in Education

March 17, 2013

In Mason County, WA—which ranked 35 out of 39 counties in the state in the 2012 County Health Rankings—a diverse group of partners has...

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...

Never Giving Up: Addressing Drug Addiction in Scott County, Indiana

September 4, 2012

What would you do if the county you’d lived in and loved for many decades was ranked the least healthy county in your state...

How a Low Ranking on Health Mobilized Wyandotte County, Kansas

March 21, 2011

Wyandotte County, Kansas has made significant strides toward achieving public health since it finished in the bottom of the 2010 Kansas County Health Rankings.