Written by Sherry Lucas
clarionledger.com
Rankings
Top in Health Outcomes/Health Factors
1. DeSoto/Madison
2. Lamar/Lamar
3. Lafayette/Rankin
4. Rankin/Oktibbeha
5. Madison/Lafayette
Bottom in Health Outcomes/Health Factors*
77. Claiborne/Jefferson
78. Holmes/Coahoma
79. Wilkinson/Sunflower
80. Coahoma/Holmes
81. Quitman/Tunica
* Not ranked: Issaquena
Rankin and Madison counties both rank among the top five Mississippi counties in summary health outcomes and health factors in a recently released survey, while Hinds trails farther down the list in each category.
Delta counties were among those ranking toward the bottom.
County Health Rankings & Roadmaps by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin takes into account factors such as environment, education and jobs, access to and quality of health care and individual behaviors for information on a community’s overall health. Policies and programs such as smoke-free laws and amenities such as accessible parks and recreation space can help improve a community’s ranking.
Such information can be a way to asses overall health by geographic area, identify areas of concern and point out areas of great opportunity, said Dr. Herman Taylor, University of Mississippi Medical Center professor of cardiology and principal investigator of the Jackson Heart Study.
“I think it alerts us to the challenges that are out there, but it also can help focus resources and attention, whether it’s a factor in research or the use of resources that are already available, both medical and preventive, to try and bring everybody up to a level … to be proud of.”
Often underplayed in national discussions are prevention and the social determinants of health — things in social and physical environments that might have a bearing on how people become patients, Taylor said. “We’re doing a reasonably good job with our patients, but too many people are patients.”
Mississippi Health Advocacy Program director Roy Mitchell was struck by DeSoto County’s No. 1 spot in the summary rank for health outcomes, and No. 6 in health factors. He noted the national recognition Hernando has received for health policies and Hernando Mayor Chip Johnson’s opposition to the “anti-Bloomberg” bill banning local governments from requiring calorie counts on menus or limiting portions, saying it would hamstring efforts to be innovative and enact local policies.
“Mississippi shoots itself in the foot on health issues, and that’s why we’re last,” Mitchell said. “The last thing the state needs to be doing is trying to hamstring the efforts of local municipalities to create healthier communities.”
Delta counties’ low rankings illustrate the long-held health disparities there, Mitchell said, adding it’s an area that would directly benefit from Medicaid expansion.
Ridgeland’s multipurpose trails, mountain bike course and bike lanes on newly built and renovated roads and classification of a bicycle-friendly city all play into the town’s commitment to health and wellness, Ridgeland Recreation and Parks director Chris Chance said. And it surely played, too, into boosting Madison County toward the top in healthy county rankings.
Fitness-related special events pepper weekends from March through November, he said. “As a city and as a county, I think we’ve embraced that.
“It’s extra work, but we like being known as a place where people come to get their fitness on.”
BlueCross BlueShield of Mississippi Foundation’s Healthy Hometown program, in its third year, may have an aim similar to the county rankings by encouraging healthy competition toward health goals. The program encourages municipalities around the state to focus on building healthy communities and rewarding those efforts through grants on an annual basis.
Hernando, Starkville and Tupelo have taken the healthiest hometown $50,000 prize in the program’s three years, but the tiny town of Duncan (in Bolivar County, population 423) won a $25,000 grant to put toward health and wellness initiatives. “Can you imagine what that award did for them?” foundation chairman John Sewell said.
The program has been growing each year and at the Mississippi Municipal annual meeting, “we’re seeing some competition between mayors. They’re holding this up as something they really want to strive for.”
To contact Sherry Lucas, call (601) 961-7283.
