NWADG Progress 2018

2018 Progress

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Benton County leads the state each year in health rankings, but the honor loses a bit of its shine as Arkansas consistently is at the bottom of national lists, according to reports. In the national compari- sons, Benton County is in the bottom one-third of rankings, said Namvar Zohoori, chief science officer for the Arkan- sas Department of Health. "By most measures, Ar- kansas is near the bottom in health rankings," Zohoo- ri said. "In terms of chronic diseases, immunizations, teen pregnancies and infant mor- tality, we lead with the worst outcomes." The 2017 America's Health Rankings by the United Health Foundation put Ar- kansas as the 48th-healthiest state. Benton County ranked No. 1 in the state last year for length of life, quality of life and other health behav- iors, according to the County Health Ranking & Roadmaps. The county list is a collabo- ration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wis- consin Population Health Institute. Washington County was third in the 2017 ranking. A comparison across the state shows a wide disparity of what's normal for Arkan- san health. Benton County has sig- nificantly reduced levels of major risk factors and rates of chronic diseases, Zohoori said. R a t e s o f o b e s i t y a r e 46 percent for Phillips Coun- ty residents in east Arkansas' Delta, 30 percent for Benton County residents and 31 per- cent in Washington County. About a quarter of Phillips County residents smoke, while 16 percent of Benton County residents and 21 per - cent of Washington County residents are smokers. Access to physical activi- ty reveals the biggest gap. In Phillips County, 4 percent of residents have easy access to get moving, while 83 percent of Benton County residents and 76 percent of Washington County residents have easy access. "While we could look at Benton County and say we're doing really well, we could also look across the country at counties that have equiva- lent population with similar income and socioeconomic factors," Zohoori said. "And at that, Benton County is among the bottom. "It means we can't get complacent." The best way to influence health behaviors, Zohoori said, is to change the environ- ment so residents have plen- ty of safe spaces to be active — walking outdoors, going to a park or farmers market — and a variety of places to get healthy foods, especial- ly fruits and vegetables. In that way, Benton County and Springdale are doing a lot of good work, he said. All major Northwest Ar- kansas cities engaged in building the Razorback Gre- enway, a 36-mile trail system that improves access to phys- ical activity. Many cities have focused on giving students a safe way to walk to school. Springdale and other cities have participated in Growing Healthy Communities, a pro- gram of the Arkansas Coali- tion for Obesity Prevention that works with cities to make healthy food and fitness with- in realistic reach for the aver- age Arkansan. Nick Ogle, who leads the nonprofit Center for Collab- orative Care, said Northwest Arkansas has plenty of great providers and organizations to help residents lead healthy lifestyles, but they're not well connected. Ogle thinks residents will be better served and health- ier once the region's health care providers are collaborat- ing and working toward the same goal. He aims to do that through the center, a platform and advocacy organization launched in September 2016. A 2014 grant from the En- deavor Foundation funded the center and its first three years of operation. Staff mem- bers took the first 18 months to build its infrastructure and Hark, a technology program that allows providers to share health care information and where patients can easily find resources. The technol- ogy protects patient data so providers, organizations and HEALTH RANKINGS APRIL WALLACE NWA DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Northwest Arkansas tops state, trails U.S. in health factors LEADING STATE, NOT NATION America's Health Rankings Arkansas ranks near the bottom of the 2017 America's Health Rankings by the United Health Foundation. The ranking uses 35 measures covering behaviors, community and environment, policy, clinical care and outcomes data. NWA Democrat-Gazette SOURCE: United Health Foundation CA OR NV WA ID MT WY SD ND UT CO AZ NM TX OK KS NE MN IA MO AR LA MS AL TN IL WI MI IN OH KY WV VA NC SC GA FL PA NY ME MD DE NJ CT MA VT NH HI AK RI RANK: 1 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 Health rankings list 1. Massachusetts 26. Wyoming 2. Hawaii 27. Illinois 3. Vermont 28. Pennsylvania 4. Utah 29. Alaska 5. Connecticut 30. Delaware 6. Minnesota 31. Arizona 7. Colorado 32. Florida 8. New Hampshire 33. North Carolina 9. Washington 34. Texas 10. New York 35. Michigan 11. Rhode Island 36. New Mexico 12. New Jersey 37. Nevada 13. Nebraska 38. Indiana 14. Idaho 39. Ohio 15. Iowa 40. Missouri 16. Maryland 41. Georgia 17. California 42. Kentucky 18. North Dakota 43. Oklahoma 19. Virginia 44. South Carolina 20. Oregon 45. Tennessee 21. Wisconsin 46. West Virginia 22. Montana 47. Alabama 23. Maine 48. Arkansas 24. South Dakota 49. Louisiana 25. Kansas 50. Mississippi Source: United Health Foundation NWA Democrat-Gazette/CHARLIE KAIJO Joggers make their way through a tunnel on a bike path Feb. 15 at the Razorback Greenway in Bentonville. Benton County leads the state in county health rankings. NWA Democrat-Gazette/CHARLIE KAIJO Christian Beasley of Bentonville rides his bike Feb. 15 at the Razorback Greenway in Bentonville. 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