County-by-county health rankings were announced this week (February 17, 2010) allowing those of us in Montgomery County to compare ourselves to others across the state. Montgomery County ranked well: 10th of the 95 counties in terms of health outcomes – things like premature death, reported health and low birth weight of infants. Unfortunately, when looking at health factors that support those outcomes, we ranked much lower: only 41st. Health behaviors, clinical care, social-economic factors and the physical environment all contribute to understanding health factors. Specific factors of concern include adult smoking, binge drinking, the chlamydia rate, the teen birth rate, primary care providers, hospice use, air pollution and access to healthy foods.
The information has been published by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. For more information and to view all counties, see http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/
Tags: clarksville, health, Montgomery County, rankings, tennessee