County is 47th in state health rankings

By STEPH TAHTINEN

Mt. Pleasant News

Henry County is ranked 47th out of the 99 counties in Iowa in the 2012 county health rankings, down five spots from its 2011 ranking of 42nd, though Healthy Henry County Communities Coordinator Kelly Carr said the data doesn?t really mean much for the future of HHCC.

?You?re not even comparing apples to apples, really,? Carr told the HHCC board during its meeting Tuesday afternoon. She noted that the health rankings make use of data that is already three to five years old.

The health rankings are not going to have much impact on the direction of HHCC, noted Carr, as the effectiveness of HHCC?s programs is more long term than short term.

?You?re not going to see what impact our programming has had in one year,? said Carr.

It was also pointed out that some of the categories have large margins of error ? such a the 52-74 percent margin of error on mammography screening, at which Henry County is listed in the 63rd percentile, or the 75-97 percent margin of error for diabetic screening, at which Henry County is listed in the 86th percentile.

The health ranking is determined by looking at the health outcomes and health factors. Health outcomes represent how healthy a county is, while health factors are what influences the health in the county.

Henry County is ranked 47th for overall health outcomes; it ranked 40th in 2011.

The category is divided into the categories of mortality? length of life ? and morbidity ? quality of life. Henry County is ranked at 44th for mortality (38th in 2011) and 46th for morbidity (52nd in 2011).

For health factors, Henry County ranks 63rd overall; it was ranked 47th in 2011. Health factors are divided into the following categories, with the 2012 figure followed by the 2011 figure:

Health behaviors: 26nd, 17th

Clinical care: 28th, 18th

Social and economic factors: 94th, 85th

Physical environment: 27th, 36th

Full details on the health rankings, including comparing Henry County?s ranking to neighboring counties, can be found at www.countyhealthrankings.com. These rankings are compiled by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

In other business, the HHCC board discussed a new strategic plan for the group. Two months ago, a committee was formed to set a new direction and goals for HHCC. They committee focused on three categories:

? Business, organization, government

? Personal responsibility and initiative

? Social connectedness and belonging

On Tuesday, the HHCC board was presented with charts of programs within those categories and which person or organization was involved in implementing them.

?All of the Blue Zones initiatives are pretty much in here in some form,? said Carr.

Some of the programs are already in place or are in the planning stages. However, there are several programs and initiatives that have been proposed but still need somebody to steer the committee.

?What we need is board members to say, ?Here?s one I like,?? said Dave Helman, who was on the committee. ?There has to be accountability for the programs.?

Board members were asked to email Carr within the next two weeks to tell her which committees they would be interested in.

?The key is we have to have people sign up,? said Lisa Oetken, board member, noting that Carr was not able to do everything herself.

Board members were also encouraged to reach out to other organizations and counties to research what these programs would look like and how to implement them.