Grafton County Healthiest!

[Lloyd Danforth]

http://www.theunionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Who%27s+healthiest+in+New+Hampshire%3f&articleId=2146ecdc-9445-4b15-8769-529e9c849cea

Who's healthiest in New Hampshire?

By PAULA TRACY
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff
8 hours, 38 minutes ago

Where you live in New Hampshire matters to your health, according to a report that ranks counties by some two dozen health indicators.

Grafton County is the best; neighboring Coos County, the worst.

The report, County Health Rankings 2010, uses 28 indicators and outcomes -- such as access to healthy foods, percentage of uninsured, number of homicides, low birth weights, chlamydia prevalence, graduation rate, the number of days with high ozone counts, even the density of liquor stores -- to analyze and rank the health of counties.

"Where we live matters to our health," reads the introduction to the report, which was released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

"For example, people who live in communities with ample park and recreation space are more likely to exercise, which reduces heart disease risk. People who live in communities with smoke-free laws are less likely to smoke or to be exposed to second-hand smoke, which reduces lung cancer risk."

New Hampshire typically ranks among the most healthy states in the country, so the more recent findings serve to fine-tune an already lofty ranking. County rankings, from the most healthy to least are: Grafton 1; Rockingham 2; Merrimack 3; Cheshire 4; Hillsborough 5; Belknap 6; Strafford 7; Carroll 8; Sullivan 9; and Coos 10.

"We have certainly known for some time that the North Country faces some challenges," said Martha McLeod, executive director of the North Country Health Consortium. The consortium's service region includes northern Grafton, Coos and Carroll counties.

"It is a good starting point to explore health issues that need attention, such as access to oral health and obesity. This gives us some additional information," McLeod said.

A state health official said the information pinpoints where efforts are needed for public health initiatives such as smoking cessation and childhood obesity, said Dr. Jose Montero, New Hampshire director of public health.

"This report is not about who ranks highest or lowest, it's about being able to use this information to address the specific needs of a region," Montero said.

State health officials said that New Hampshire does not organize most if its public health services by county. Rather, the state plans to organize 15 public-health regions, also known as "all health hazard regions," and analyze the health status of those regions.

?New Hampshire health outcomes map

Individual reports were released for all 50 states. Dartmouth Institute at Dartmouth College also worked on the nationwide project, which analyzed data from all 3,016 counties in the nation.

The report comes after the March 2008 release of New Hampshire Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) report which serves as a blueprint for a healthier state. That showed obesity is becoming an increasing health issue, with 22 percent of adults considered obese in 2006.

[Kat Kanning]

Weird criteria.

[Jim Johnson]

It's a wealth redistribution scam.  The counties are listed as "biggest medical facilities to smallest" and has nothing to do with the health of the people in those counties.
The "least healthy" i.e. the smallest med. center will get the most money.

Like Kat says, their supposed criteria for health is laughable.

[KBCraig]

Like Kat says, their supposed criteria for health is laughable.

Yep, that was my thought when I saw the chart. It seemed to be mostly social criteria, not actual health.

I read the news from Coös County every day that it's published. I've noticed that the obituaries are almost always for people in their 90s, and the exceptions are for people with local connections, but who moved away and died early.

Coös and Grafton might be neighbors, but Grafton has quick access to Dartmouth, while the Notches make that access harder for those farther north. It doesn't mean that AVH or Weams suck, it just means that they're not within a 30 minute drive of a world-class medical university.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Grafton County. Healthiest!

[Jim Johnson]

Grafton County. Healthiest!

"percentage of uninsured"  So, does not having health insurance make Graftonaters more or less healthy.
"chlamydia prevalence"  Does having chlamydia mean you have a healthy sex life or is not having chlamydia mean you have health problems cause your unable to have sex?
"density of liquor stores"  I'd say they are pretty dense, they can't even turn a profit in New Hampshire.
"number of homicides"  Healthy libidos mean a lot more murders as well as more chlamydia.
"graduation rate"  I don't know what that has to do with the general health, unless your graduating Doctors... oh... Dartmouth.  If you don't have a medical school I bet you'll rank pretty low in that category. 

"Dartmouth Institute at Dartmouth College also worked on the nationwide project"     That didn't have anything to do with it.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Why do you hate Grafton County so much?

[Jim Johnson]

Why do you hate Grafton County so much?

I don't hate Grafton County... so much... you're all rich and healthy, and you probably have so many doctors that they're serving you sprouts and ripe melons at the fresh food deli.  And that's a good thing.  I'll be extremely happy if you live a thousand happy years.

I'm just tense about the broomball tournament... and I'm taking it out on you, I'm sorry... that we are going to have to kick your healthy, scrawny, sprout eating tushes all over the ice.   

[Kat Kanning]

Who you callin' sprout eatin? 

[Pat K]

I can safely say not me.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Cheshire County was the healthiest back in 2005, but Pat and myself taking occasional  day trips to Keene and Winchester brought down the average.

[Jim Johnson]

Who you callin' sprout eatin? 

Definitely not you.   

[Pat K]

Cheshire County was the healthiest back in 2005, but Pat and myself taking occasional  day trips to Keene and Winchester brought down the average.

We are 2 of the unknown horse riders of the apocalypse .
We always got to an area to late late for publicity, our horses
always needed a little more rest than the others.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Lazy fucking horses!

[Kat Kanning]

Who you callin' sprout eatin? 

Definitely not you.   

Yeah, well the 'scrawny' part didn't sound like me anyway.