Report examines Hubbard County's ranking in factors affecting health

Posted March 31, 2011

Hubbard County ranks 24th in health outcomes and 67th in health factors, according to the 2011 County Health Rankings report released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

Hubbard physical environment and morbidity factors were highlighted as strengths throughout the county, noted RaeAnn Mayer, St. Joseph's Community Health Manager.

"Overall, these ranking put us in the upper tier of Minnesota counties, and as a community we should proud of that" she says. "Where we live, specifically our physical environment as offered in our county, impacts how well we collectively live, so we need to continually work together as a community to make our county as healthy as it possibly can be."

The report ranks both health outcomes and health factors in order to highlight the wide array of issues that determine health in local communities.

Health outcomes include the rate of people dying before age 75, the percentage of people who report being in fair or poor health, and the rate of low-birth weight of infants.

Health factors include health behavior, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment.

The County Health Rankings, which launched nationwide last year, use a standard formula to measure the health of more than 3,000 counties across the United States. The rankings are designed to compare the health of counties within each state; they do not compare counties in Minnesota with counties in other states.

Minnesota's local public health organizations already use a variety of methods to assess and measure the health of local communities. The goal of the County Health Rankings is to spur discussion and action across all sectors of the community‹including government, business, community and faith-based groups, education and public health‹to improve the health of Minnesotans.

Mayer adds: "We should take these rankings as an occasion to have a thoughtful discussion about how we can build on our health strengths and address our health challenges."

The detailed County Health Rankings can be found at www.countyhealthrankings.org.