Rice County Scores Well In Health Rankings

Though happy with the results of a recent health assessment of Minnesota counties, Rice County Community Health Services Director Anna Haubrich says the work isn't over.

"There's always room for improvement," she said Friday.

According to the County Health Rankings, a collaborative effort of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Rice County ranked 15th for health factors and 18th for health outcomes out of 85 of the state's 87 counties considered.

Rice County received its best ranking of fourth in health behaviors, a subcategory of health factors. Considerations for that category include adult smoking (14 percent of county residents), adult obesity (26 percent), excessive drinking (18 percent), motor vehicle crash death rate (17 per 100,000 population), sexually transmitted infections (220 per 100,000) and teen birth rate (21 per 1,000).

“It says people are taking care of themselves and people are getting that what we do outside the doctor’s office has more of an impact on our overall health,” Haubrich said.

The county, she said, has worked hard in recent years to combat smoking and encourage exercise and better diet. Being on the right side of those three issues, Haubrich said, helps people avoid chronic disease.

The county didn't fare well when it came to physical environment, which was based on access to health foods and recreational facilities. According to the report, 22 percent of Rice County residents have access to healthy food, well behind Minnesota's 54 percent and the national benchmark of 92 percent.

The report says researchers used five measures to assess the level of overall health or health outcomes by county: the rate of people dying before age 75; the percentage of people who reported being in fair or poor health; the number of days in poor mental health; and the rate of low-birthweight infants. Researchers then looked at factors that affect people’s health within four categories: health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment.

Though it's only one report, Haubrich says it's best to take it—and other assessments—at face value, regardless of the results.

“I look at what they look at to get to these numbers and I think it’s pretty thorough,” she said. “I don’t look it as a criticism … I look it as a tool to improve."