Public Health in Oregon - Join The Conversation

I think that comparing separate counties is a good idea. I think that it allows the counties to see how which ones are preforming well. The counties can then talk amongst each other and let other know what works well and what does not. I like what the article said about not knowing if the rankings are good because they are only compared to counties in the state. It would be interesting to see how the best Oregon county matched up with other states around the country.

I think that ranking counties is a good idea, and a great way to set a high standard and try and reach that high standard. Jefferson county needs to look around and see what other communities (Benton County) is doing and how they can make their county more similar in terms of PH to higher ranked counties. Benton County needs to keep doing what it has been doing. Obviously the system that Benton has is working, and working well. Just no slacking now.

I think that ranking the counties is a good way to evaluate the overall health of the population.  However if you look at the the individual counties you can see that there are some major differences in their rankings based on the catagories.  By providing the comparison it allows the lower ranking counties to see what is being done in the higher ranking counties.  However, there are some factors that are hard to influence, such as the percent of the population that are high school graduates.

I think that discussing health rankings is a positive thing because it helps narrow down what works at what doesn’t most effectively. By observing different counties and their rankings we can see what the best and worst counties are doing, and identify what makes each county healthy and what doesn’t. Although each county does have a different demographic, there are still things to take away from each county that can be applied to all.

I think ranking counties against each other is a great way for the lower ranking counties to see that “it can be done.” I do, however, believe that some sort of bar should be set or estimated to explain what areas are good and what areas are bad. This only tells us what is below and above average. But what determines whether a specific county really has bad health outcomes, or if it’s just below a few other higher ranking counties? I do commend Benton County, and I love knowing that I live in one of the highest ranked counties for health behaviors and factors. It makes me want to continue improving our area, but it also makes me want to research why counties like Jefferson are so much lower. What differences create this gap? Are they major or minor? Are they something that can be changed, realistically, or is it determined by the population? I don’t think anyone can say that this study was negative. It will really cause different counties to look inside their policies and infrastructure and hopefully determine what needs to be done to make a healthier community!

One thing that the map shows for me, is the importance of providing services to rural areas. Most of the lower ranking counties are sparsely populated and agriculture intensive. One can imagine in many of those counties that funding is a major issue as the tax base is much smaller.

Since you asked: Benton County Health Department is gratified that the hard work we’ve done toward our mission of assuring “Healthy People In A Healthy Community” has enabled us to be recognized in this way. While we have taken the opportunity to celebrate this achievement, we are definitely not content to sit on our laurels.
This top ranking should not and cannot be interpreted to mean that every resident of Benton County is healthier than everyone in all other Oregon counties. Significant health disparities exist within Benton County, most of which are not reflected by the indicators included in this report. We see our ranking as a challenge to look deeper and more critically at a wider range of health indicators, to identify and address areas of need and inequity that unquestionably exist here.
We are fortunate that Benton County voters recently approved a health and safety levy enabling us to employ a 0.5 fte county epidemiologist who has already been analyzing a several dozen local health indicators.  On April 6th, as part of our National Public Health Week activities we will unveil the on-line Benton County Health Status Report. That report will include data drilled down to the county level, comparing our results with Oregon scores and Healthy People 2010 targets.
Our intent is to use the County Health Rankings data, along with our own Health Status Report to help identify and prioritize local needs, guide interventions, and evaluate progress. We believe that this sort of publicly available information will help assure local stakeholders, decision-makers, and voters that we are implementing effective, evidence-based practices and are fully-accountable stewards of public resources addressing the most significant health challenges facing our population.
Charlie Fautin
Deputy Director, Benton County Health Department