Hi-Line health rankings are low

A national organization gave low rankings for some local counties in health measures, which a local health official said shows the need to focus on promoting health.

"Because much of what affects our health happens beyond medical care, the rankings underscore how important it is to build a culture of health where getting healthy, staying healthy and making sure our kids grow up healthy are top priorities," Hill County Director of Public Health Danielle Golie said.

Golie invited everyone to participate in the Hill County Health Consortium's work on a health improvement plan, focusing on alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy and mental illness.

The higher-than-state average on teen pregnancy and drinking were among the factors listed in the report, which also listed "Poor mental health days" as a factor.

Hill County was ranked 34th out of the 46 Montana counties ranked in a study released last week by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. Blaine County was ranked 44th of the 46, while Chouteau County was 20th.

Liberty County did not have data listed. Nine other counties also were listed as not having data or having unreliable data and not ranked in the list of Montana counties in the report.

Gallatin County was listed as the healthiest county in Montana in the report.

Glacier County was ranked 45th, while Roosevelt County was ranked 46th.

The rankings in the report are broken into sections of health outcomes, which equates to length and quality of life, Golie said, and health factors including behaviors, access to and quality of care, social and economic factors and the physical environment.

She noted that Hill County was ranked 19th in access to clinical care.

The report ranked Blaine County 43rd out of 46 for access to clinical care.

The report compared counties on available data such as the rate of premature deaths, low birthweights, "poor or fair health days," smoking, obesity, lack of physical activity, excessive drinking, alcohol-related traffic fatalities, sexually transmitted infections, poverty rates, children in single-parent households, violent crimes and deaths due to injuries.

Golie said that, regardless of the county ranking, every Montana community can improve its health.

"This is not a race to the top," she said. "No matter where a community ranks, the bottom, middle or top, all counties can improve their health."

She said improving health is an ongoing process and results from efforts might not show for years. Efforts could include designing safe and accessible streets, improving education opportunities and increasing access to grocery stores with healthy foods in underserved regions, she said.

"No single person can tackle this problem alone," Golie said. "It will take leaders from businesses, government, educators, employers, citizens and organizations representing many interests working together to create opportunities to live a healthy life."

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Online: County health rankings, Montana overview: http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/montana/2014/overview