Henry County moves up in statewide health ranking

By Bryce Kelly, Mt. Pleasant News

Henry County is on an upward health trend, according to recent reports, and the Healthy Henry County Communities (HHCC) board says they feel as though much of their hard work is being validated.

On Tuesday, the board reviewed newly released County Health Rankings, which showed Henry County moving upward in their health outcomes rating. This year?s report placed Henry County as the 50 out of 99 counties for overall health outcome, which marks a noted jump from last year. Henry County ranked 55 out of 99 counties in the same category, according to last year?s report.

?It?s a good thing to see we are improving. Our health outcomes was a big improvement from last year, and our scores in overall health factors are also making improvements,? said HHCC coordinator, Kelly Carr.

A drop in the number of preventable hospital stays and children living in poverty have both decreased from last year?s report. The number of reported sexually transmitted diseases in the county has also seen a marked decrease, while the high school graduation rate has improved.

Additionally, Carr said the number of premature deaths in Henry County decreased dramatically, which saw an uncommon spike in last year?s report.

?I?m not totally sure what last year?s spike was attributed to. It could have been a number of things. That?s a really hard number to control, but the fact that it has significantly decreased this year is good, and really helps our scores overall.?

While there was much to celebrate in this year?s County Health Rankings report, some of the common issues that Henry County has struggled with in past reports is still presenting as a concern. Adult obesity in the United States as a whole is on a downward trend, however Henry County?s adult obesity rate is growing. In addition, while the rate of adult smoking is not increasing, its rate is staying at a steady pace compared to last year?s report.

One interesting fact to note from the study was that while adult obesity in the county was growing, the rate of physical inactivity was decreasing ? a fact that had many on the board stumped.

?It?s encouraging to see the U.S. as a whole is getting better in terms of obesity, but it?s not good to see our rate is still going up,? said board member Bob Cardoni, who added that the board?s efforts to increase active living in the county was clearly having positive effects.

Carr added that the report was a clear indicator that the board?s work in addressing healthy eating was far from over, and that taking a look at tobacco use education might be an area to look at more in-depth.

Finally, the board also noted that the rate of violent crime in Henry County went up from last year, which Carr suggested the board look into more thoroughly at a future meeting.

A full report of the most recent County Health Rankings report can be found at www.countyhealthrankings.org.

In other board business, HHCC has received a $1,000 grant from the Alliant Energy Foundation, which will be put towards the Pick a Better Snack program for children in the local Head Start. The board also heard a report from board member Sarah Berndt, of Southeast Iowa LINK, who gave an overview of the services offered through Southeast Iowa LINK.

Finally, the board approved the board member resignation of Candice Becker, and will be actively seeking someone from the Henry County community to fill her seat.

The next Healthy Henry County Communities board meeting will be held on either June 12 or June 13, pending the confirmed schedule of guest speaker, Chuck Long. According to Carr, HHCC is hoping to invite Long, a former Iowa Hawkeye and NFL athlete, to speak at their next meeting regarding his program, Live Healthy Iowa.

More information about next month?s meeting will be released at a later date.