From Lori Brockman, Communications Officer, phone number (503) 655-8752
3-01-2010Media and related parties
Clackamas County Receives High Marks in County Health Rankings
A report by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation - the first annual "health checkup" of the nation's counties - ranked Clackamas County high on overall health - third best of 36 Oregon counties.
"The County Health Rankings report is important because it helps us identify factors that are making our residents unhealthy, and it helps us understand how we compare to other counties in the state," said Clackamas County Commissioner Jim Bernard. "With this knowledge, we can take steps to improve the health of our community."The County Health Rankings also show how Clackamas County ranks on individual factors that influence its overall health ranking. The county received a high ranking in the areas of percentage of the population age 25 or over with at least a 4-year college degree; low premature death rates; and low teen birth rates.
While Clackamas County ranked high overall, the report helps identify areas of improvement. For example, although the county ranked comparatively well for the rate of adult obesity, those rates continued to rise.
Although the county's rankings are favorable compared to other Oregon counties regarding some environmental factors such as access to healthy foods, Clackamas County would like to further improve access for residents to locally grown, fresh foods.
Clackamas County has been listening to the community to learn more about what a healthy community means to residents. In 2009, the Roadmap to Healthy Communities project was launched by the county and has included community input via surveys, focus groups and town hall forums. Twenty community leaders serve as Community Advisors for this project and are helping to draft a plan for a healthy Clackamas County that identified elements of a healthy community including access to healthy food, education and more. Community projects will develop out of Roadmap recommendations as early as this spring. The county health rankings contribute valuable information to the development of the county health plan. Detailed results of Clackamas County's rankings can be viewed at http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/oregon/clackamasClackamas County Health, Housing and Human Services department promotes and assists individuals, families and communities to be healthy, safe, and thrive. H3S provides a broad spectrum of services for low income and vulnerable residents and addresses public health issues for the entire county. To learn more, please visit our web site at http://www.clackamas.us/dhs
For more information, media may call Lori Brockman at (503) 655-8752 (office) or 503-307-7545 (cell).