Health study rates counties

Flathead County ranked as the 10th healthiest county in Montana in a new study by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

The study used a standard formula to measure health and how long people live.

Gallatin County was ranked number one in Montana, followed by Carbon, Ravalli, Missoula, Richland, Fergus, Madison, Valley and Beaverhead counties.

Lincoln County came in at 24th, Lake County placed 33rd and Sanders County was 34th.

The lowest Montana score was assigned to Roosevelt County. The study did not rank 12 counties.

Joe Russell, Flathead County health officer, said he was heartened that Flathead finished among the top counties. He noted that Flathead was one of only a few large counties in the top 10.

“Our access to care is very strong and the quality of care is strong,” he said.

Russell said he often makes the point that unemployment rates tie directly into the overall health of the community. He said people who are working tend to be healthy.

Many of the statistics used in this study were gathered when Flathead County had a low unemployment rate.

He also said socioeconomic factors such as education play an important role in the health of the community. Russell points to Montana State University in Gallatin County and Flathead Valley Community College in the Flathead as health assets.

In the alarming catagory, he noted the rate of uninsured adults at 19 percent in Flathead County.

“That’s almost one in five adults,” Russell said. “That is a really big issue.”

Researchers used two sets of measures to compare counties.

Health outcomes were based on statistics of length and quality of life while health factors reflected data on healthy behaviors, access to and quality of clinical care, social and economic factors and the physical environment.

Compared to top-ranked Gallatin County, people in the Flathead smoke more, have higher rates of obesity, die more often in vehicle crashes and have double the teen birth rates.

On the positive side, the Flathead had lower binge drinking rates and lower rates of chlamydia than Gallatin County.

In the area of clinical care, the Flathead Valley had fewer primary care doctors with a score of 124 compared to Gallatin’s 150. Flathead residents have slightly lower rates of diabetic screenings, a few more preventable hospital stays and less hospice use.

Gallatin County had 26 percent of people without health insurance.

Gallatin outscored the Flathead on social and economic factors including a college graduation rate of 41 percent compared to 22 percent here, 12 percent of children in poverty compared to this county’s 18 percent and 6 percent single-parent households to 8 percent in the Flathead.

Montana’s healthiest county also has greater access to healthy foods at grocery stores and produce stands and a lower density of liquor stores.

People may view results for each county online at www.countyhealthrankings.org. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (which sponsored the study), said the organization hopes the rankings spur all sectors of counties to work together for better health.

“These rankings demonstrate that health happens where we live, learn, work and play,” she said. “And much of what influences how healthy we are and how long we live happens outside the doctor’s office.”

The University of Wisconsin study released this week compared only counties within each state rather than across the country. It also did not compare states since America’s Health Ranking provides those statistics.

In 2009, that group placed Montana at 26 out of the 50 states, slipping from 25th in 2008.

The state study found the state’s strengths as low prevalence of obesity, low rate of infectious diseases, low levels of air pollution and low rate of deaths from cardiovascular disease.

Health challenges were a decrease in immunization coverage of children, an increasing rate of obesity and an increase in violent crime per 100,000 people. Disparities were found with American Indians reporting high rates of obesity, diabetes and mortality per 100,000 people compared to non-Hispanic whites.

Russell said that some information has surfaced since that study was released that the reported decrease in children’s immunizations was a statistical anomaly. He said that was an area of great concern to him if it proves valid.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.