HEALTH News:

Results of the County Health Rankings were released Wednesday and Los Alamos County ranked at the top of the list. Los Alamos has been at the top of this list since 2010.

The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program is a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

We believe America can become a nation where getting healthy, staying healthy, and making sure our children grow up healthy are top priorities. We have a vision of an America where we all strive together to build a national culture of health that enables all in our diverse society to lead healthy lives, now and for generations to come.

About the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps

The annual County Health Rankings measure vital health factors, including high school graduation rates, obesity, smoking, unemployment, access to healthy foods, the quality of air and water, income, and teen births in nearly every county in America. The annual Rankings provide a revealing snapshot of how health is influenced by where we live, learn, work and play.

They provide a starting point for change in communities. That is why we also provide the Roadmaps that provide guidance and tools to understand the data, and strategies that communities can use to move from education to action. The Roadmaps are helping communities bring people together from all walks of life to look at the many factors that influence health, focus on strategies that we know work, learn from each other, and make changes that will have a lasting impact on health. 

About the RWJF Culture of Health Prize

In 2013, we introduced the RWJF Roadmaps to Health Prize—now called the RWJF Culture of Health Prize, honoring communities that have placed a priority on the health of their citizens. Some of the communities are urban. Others are rural. Some are affluent. Others have high rates of poverty.

But they all have one thing in common: In each of these places community leaders, individuals, business, government and educators have forged powerful partnerships to inspire people to live healthier lives. Our goal is to use this award to bring national attention to the prize winners’ strategies, and inspire other communities to follow suit.

Health Outcomes						13
Length of Life						21
Premature death	9,296	8,690-9,903	5,317	8,074
Quality of Life						5
Poor or fair health	17%		15-18%	10%	17%
Poor physical health days	4.0		3.6-4.3	2.5	3.8
Poor mental health days	3.6		3.2-4.0	2.4	3.6
Low birthweight	7.3%		6.9-7.7%	6.0%	8.6%
Health Factors						27
Health Behaviors						27
Adult smoking	23%		21-25%	14%	19%
Adult obesity	30%	28-32%	25%	24%
Food environment index	6.3			8.7	6.4
Physical inactivity	24%	22-26%	21%	20%
Access to exercise opportunities	47%			85%	69%
Excessive drinking	13%		11-15%	10%	14%
Alcohol-impaired driving deaths	43%			14%	34%
Sexually transmitted infections	679		123	546
Teen births	64		61-67	20	59
Clinical Care						28
Uninsured	27%	25-29%	11%	23%
Primary care physicians	1,806:1			1,051:1	1,356:1
Dentists	1,432:1			1,439:1	1,821:1
Mental health providers	937:1			536:1	384:1
Preventable hospital stays	68	63-73	46	53
Diabetic screening	53%	49-56%	90%	75%
Mammography screening	56%	51-61%	71%	56%
Social & Economic Factors						19
High school graduation	66%				69%
Some college	52%		49-55%	70%	58%
Unemployment	6.8%		4.4%	6.9%
Children in poverty	28%	22-33%	13%	29%
Inadequate social support	23%		21-25%	14%	21%
Children in single-parent households	40%		35-44%	20%	39%
Violent crime	670		64	591
Injury deaths	111		103-119	49	95
Physical Environment						31
Air pollution – particulate matter	10.1		9.5	10.0
Drinking water violations	13%			0%	7%
Severe housing problems	19%		18-21%	9%	17%
Driving alone to work	84%		82-85%	71%	78%
Long commute – driving alone	33%		30-35%	15%	25%