NATIONWIDE — Saratoga County fared well in a recent national report that measures the health of individual counties, but the numbers also indicate there are areas of concern for county residents.
Since 2011, with support provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, teams of researchers at the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute have studied a wide variety of statistics focusing on quality of life issues in counties across the country. The institute publishes a report online called the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps (it can be viewed at www.county-healthrankings.org).
The findings are divided into two primary sections called “health outcomes” and “health factors” that rank counties in comparison to state averages. Saratoga County was ranked 1 out of 62 New York counties in health outcomes, indicating that residents generally enjoy good health and longer lives.
Saratoga County fared worse in several health factors, including adult obesity and excessive drinking. In the “physical environment” section of the report the county rank is 39 due to increased air pollution, “drinking water violations” and “long commutes.”
The report found that a substantial 30 percent more residents of Saratoga County engage in the practice of “driving alone to work,” compared to the state average.
“The Rankings are unique in their ability to measure the current overall health of nearly every county in all 50 states,” the report summary states. “They also look at a variety of measures that affect the future health of communities, such as high school graduation rates, access to healthy foods, rates of smoking, obesity, and teen births. Communities use the Rankings to help identify issues and opportunities for local health improvement, as well as to garner support for initiatives among government agencies, healthcare providers, community organizations, business leaders, policy makers, and the public.”
