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CAT Tracks for February 17, 2010
RANKING HEALTH...COUNTY BY COUNTY |
Singer/songwriter Stace England (who did the musical CD history about Cairo) also "reported" on our neighbors in Hardin County, the descriptive line being "Life is hard in Hardin County."
Well, if we needed any proof of Stace's accuracy, it was provided by a new nationwide/statewide health report released today.
In Illinois, Hardin County's "health report card" is the only one worse than Alexander County. (For some reason, Pope County was not ranked...maybe they died.)
The link at the bottom of the story provides a nationwide, interactive map so that you may take the pulse of any county in the US of A...
From the KFVS TV Channel 12 Website
Health rankings put many Heartland counties in the bottom
By Heartland News
(KFVS) - A collaboration project between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute ranked each state's counties on health outcomes and the multiple health factors that determine a county's health.
Four different types of health factors are considered: health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and the physical environment.
In Missouri and Illinois, most of our Heartland counties are at the bottom of the class. Out of 101 counties, the bottom three are in Southern Illinois. Those counties: Hardin County at 101, Alexander County at 100, and Pulaski County at 99. Out of 115 Southeast Missouri counties, the bottom three are again in the Heartland. Pemiscot county ranks 115, Dunklin county at 114, and Ripley county at 113.
A bright spot in Southeast Missouri, however, is Cape Girardeau County. The county ranks number 17. A ranking of 1 would be best in state. That designation goes to Platte county in Northwest Missouri.
