A program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute released information on February 17, 2010 that ranks counties across the nation within their own State.
The rankings list heath outcomes and health factors in each county that together produce a ranking within the State.
Out of 101 rankings, (1 county did not have enough data to include in the survey), Ford County ranked 20th and Iroquois County ranked 30th.
According to Julie Clark, Community Health Planner at the Ford-Iroquois Public Health Department, these rankings do not come as a surprise. “In Illinois, health departments are required to produce a community health plan. Every five years we are required to do a health needs assessment within our community and develop a five year plan that addresses the needs identified through that process. Our 4th five year community health plan was just approved by the State in October, 2009. The health rankings report very much mirrors the information we used to produce our community health plan,” said Clark.
Clark said the Ford-Iroquois Health Improvement Coalition is a group that formed over sixteen years ago to address the health priorities identified through the first community health needs assessment. “Our coalition is very unique in that it has continued to meet quarterly throughout the years and implements strategies to address the health priorities of our community. Personally, I feel that this may be one of the reasons we ranked higher than some other counties. We have a team in place that works on an ongoing basis to address health needs.”
In the most recent five year community health plan of Ford and Iroquois counties, four priority areas are targeted. The first priority is substance abuse, the second priority is alcohol use amongst both youth and adults, the third priority is mental health issues in senior citizens such as depression and isolation and the fourth priority is obesity amongst youth and adults. “The county health ranking report mirrors three of our priorities. The mental health in senior citizens priority is not included in the health rankings report. This priority mostly stems from information received from mental health providers in the area who have treated an increased number of senior citizens in the past couple of years for isolation issues and depression. Some of this is thought to be related to displacement and financial struggles brought on by the flood of 2008 in Iroquois County. These individuals are, hopefully, taking advantage of the help that is available to them through the Illinois Disaster Assistance Program grant now being implemented by the health department,” she said.
Clark encouraged any one who is interested in getting involved with the coalition to contact her. “We currently have about twenty-five members on the coalition representing all facets of the community from mental health providers, hospital representatives, probation, prevention specialists, consumers, school personnel, clergy, senior services providers, etc. We kind of live by the motto, “It takes a village” and all work together to address the health needs of our community.”
For more information regarding the current five year community health plan, the county health rankings or to find out more about joining the Ford-Iroquois Health Improvement Coalition, contact Julie Clark at 618-288-1123 or at jclark@fiphd.org.