At first blush, the sixth-annual County Health Rankings released Wednesday paint a bleak picture for Barton County. We are the 86th least healthy county in Kansas after being ranked at 68th last year.
That is a dismal drop. It is sad and depressing.
The survey offers a glimpse into he health of nearly every county in the nation. The local-level data allows each state to see how its counties compare on 30 factors that influence health including education, housing, violent crime, jobs, diet, and exercise.
According to the 2015 Rankings, the five healthiest counties in Kansas, starting with most healthy, are Riley, followed by Johnson, Pottawatomie, Stevens, and Jewell. The five areas in the poorest health, starting at the bottom, are Woodson, Decatur, Cherokee, Greenwood, and Labette.
Here is how other area counties rated: Ness at 16th, Ellsworth at 24th, Rice at 43rd, Stafford at 57th, Pawnee at 73rd, Rush at 89th and Russell at 90th.
To put this in prospective, there are 105 counties in Kansas, only four of which were not ranked in the survey. Not ranked were Stanton, Wallace, Greeley and Hodgeman counties.
This makes coming in 86th sound even worse.
But, there are signs of improvement.
“We are individually responsible for the health ranking outcome,” said Sue Cooper of the health community coalition Be Well Barton County. “We’ve known for some time that our county faces many challenges but I am confident that progress will be made. Local governments, businesses, and organizations are currently putting the tools in place for our community to make healthier choices.”
“In the six years since the County Health Rankings began, we’ve seen them serve as a rallying point for change,” said Bridget Catlin, co-director of the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps. “Communities are using the Rankings to inform their priorities as they work to build a Culture of Health.”
The Barton County Commission approved placing bicycle awareness signs on county blacktops, the City of Great Bend has approved a designated route for bikes through street markings and signage and has revamped the walking path at Vet’s Park, and all the elementary schools in Great Bend and Hoisington are participating in the Walking School Bus program.
All of these are proactive steps to improve the health of county residents.
As Cooper said, changes are in our hands. We have to decide this is something that is important to us and make the commitment.
It is not an exaggeration to say our communities futures and our lives are at stake.
Dale Hogg
