An expert panel will be available Thursday, July 29 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to present and discuss the Halifax County Health Rankings published at www.countyhealthrankings.org. No location has yet been given.
There is no cost to attend this forum and lunch will be provided.
An agenda including location, RSVP instructions and additional details to come.
A nationwide report released in February ranks Halifax County near the bottom of the state for health.
The study, called Community Health Rankings: Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health and released in February, ranks the county 96 for heath outcomes and 93 for health factors.
The study was prepared by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
The summary health outcomes ranking is based on measures of mortality and morbidity. The mortality rank, representing length of life, is based on a measure of premature death: the years of potential life lost before age 75.
Halifax County ranks poorly in socio economic factors at 98 but is ranked 75 in health behaviors. It ranks 47 in clinical care and 6 in physical environment.
The study says health behaviors include measures of smoking, diet and exercise, alcohol use and risky sex behavior. Clinical care includes measures of access to care and quality of care. Social and economic factors include measures of education, employment, income, family and social support and community safety. The physical environment includes measures of environmental quality and the built environment.
The study shows the county is ranked 95 of 100 counties for premature death and 97 on morbidity.
The results of a recent national health survey were not a surprise to Halifax County Health Director Lynda Smith.
In response to email questions from rrspin.com in March Smith said, “We do know through all our data and health reports, that poverty, high unemployment rates and low education attainment put citizens of Halifax at risk for poor health and poor health outcomes.”
Smith said for many years Halifax has been a Tier One county, with high poverty, high rates of chronic diseases, alarming rates of health disparities among races and high infant mortality. “The health rankings released from MATCH (Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health) were not a surprise, but it is shocking when the entire nation can go online and then draw conclusions about where they want to live and travel based on rankings such as these. The results help focus attention on the large variation between communities and helps show where resources need to be applied.”
