The Healthiest Counties in Massachusetts
Thursday, September 26, 2013
To see how all of Massachusetts's counties were ranked for overall healthiness, see the slides, below.
The Foundation considered several factors in its overall ranking, including the number of premature deaths and babies born at low birth weight, and rates of obesity, smoking, and low activity levels. Other factors included access to recreational facilities and healthy foods, and the number of uninsured. According to the Foundation, these data points are key factors that, when improved, help to make communities healthier places to live and work.
A representative at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health was unfamiliar with the study, initially released this spring, and therefore unwilling to comment on its findings.
How Does Worcester County Stack Up
Worcester County fared both better and worse in individual categories. In health outcomes, which include mortality and morbidity, it ranked 8 out of 14. In health factors, which includes health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment; it ranked 11 out of 14.
Who Did Best and Why
In the state's healthiest county--Dukes County, which comprises Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands--those numbers are lower almost across the board. Only 15% of adults smoke, and only 19% are obese or physically inactive. Rates of excessive drinking are higher though, at 28%.
Other counties that did well showed similarly lower rates of obesity, smoking, and physical inactivity. The majority of residents in these counties also had access to recreational facilities and healthy food options, though those figures did not vary as considerably across the board.
The factors that seemed to make the most difference were access to primary care doctors and the prevalence of fast food restaurants and poverty. In Dukes County, the ratio of residents to primary care doctors was 872:1. In Worcester County the ratio was 998:1, and in Hampden County (comprised of the Pioneer Valley surrounding Springfield) the ratio was 1,368:1. Of the all the dining out options in Dukes County, only 21% were fast food restaurants. That percentage rose to 46% in Worcester County and 45% in Hampden County, more than doubling.
What Makes Massachusetts Different
“There are 68 communities in Massachusetts, all of which have their own healthcare and public health priorities,” said Dr. Michael Hirsh, Acting Commissioner of the Worcester Department of Public Health. “That is why the data is not as applicable to states like Massachusetts because other states have public health initiatives for the county.”
“We’re hoping that now that we’re about two years into some of those arrangement that other towns will start taking notice,” said Dr. Hirsh. “We’re now considered the Central Massachusetts Regional Public Health District and have coordinated a lot of the services. If public health in Worcester affects people in Shrewsbury, couldn’t our Department of Public Health serve as a regional hub?”
Is Improvement on the Way?
Similar collaborative efforts have already been successful, said Dr. Hirsh, and there is no reason not to extend those efforts to public health.
“We have a federal grant for emergency preparedness that spreads out to 91 communities and is administered out of Worcester Public Health,” said Dr. Hirsh. “That model has been initiated in several of the weather issues that have been happening and it portends well that these communities can play together well in the sandbox, and extend it out beyond emergency preparedness.”
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation seems to agree. According to Dr. Hirsh the Foundation put out a request last year for proposals from cities looking to regionalize their public health systems, and Worcester was one of the 19 that won a grant.
“So they’ve recognized that we’re on the right track,” he said.
To see how all of Massachusetts's counties ranked for overall healthiness, see the slides, below.
Related Articles
- Arthur Schaper: AdamsCare, RomneyCare, ObamaCare: Bad Healthcare
- Julia Steiny: There Is No Health Without Mental Health
- Smart Benefits: Switching to HSAs May Reduce Healthcare Spending
- Cassidy Named Top Communication Post at Fallon Community Health Plan
- NEW: Fallon Community Health Plan Now Accepting Grant Applications
- Smart Benefits: Taxpayers Could Get Stung By Local Healthcare Cost
- Easy, Healthy + Delicious Memorial Day Recipes
- NEW: Massachusetts’s Healthcare Cost Is Biggest Concern—Poll
- Tenet Purchase of Vanguard Health Includes St. Vincent Hospital
- Fit For Life: Monsanto, GMO’s + Healthy Eating
- NEW: Three Central Mass Reps. Receive Healthy Communities Award
- The Healthiest Counties in Massachusetts
- Grace Ross: Healthcare: The Latest Excuse To Cut Jobs
- NEW: Worcester Ranked Among Best for Healthcare Social Workers
- The Lowest Score Goes to the Massachusetts Department of Health
- In Case You Missed: Worcester Restaurant Health Inspection Tracker
- Smart Benefits: 5 Health Benefit Cost-Cutting Trends To Watch In 2014
- This Week: Investigation - Health Code Inspections in Worcester
- INTERACTIVE: Worcester Restaurant Health Inspection Tracker
- Interactive: Every Restaurant In Worcester’s Health Inspections
- Smart Benefits: Healthcare Reform Delays Hit Consumers Hard
- Women Leading in Central MA: Healthcare Leader Janice B. Yost
- 50 Restaurants with Worst Health Code Scores in Worcester
- Julia Steiny: Recess Is Good For Mental Health
- Smart Benefits: Healthcare Reform—Big Rewards for Wellness in ‘14
Follow us on Pinterest Google + Facebook Twitter See It Read It