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Sevier County Ranked One of Tennessees Healthiest Counties
Residents report being sick 4 days out of the month on Average
RG Williams
The Valley Voice
NASHVILLE. According to a recent report Sevier County residents live in the 23rd healthiest county in Tennessee. Twenty –third isn’t so bad when you consider that is out of a total of 95 Tennessee Counties. What makes Sev ier County healthy? According to the report it’s our access to healthy foods. 63% of the counties residents regularly eat healthy foods, this is outstanding when compared to the statewide average of 41%. The report looks at factors that affect people’s health within four categories: health behavior, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment. Among the many health factors included are rates of adult smoking, adult obesity, binge drinking, and teenage pregnancy; the number of uninsured adults, availability of primary care providers, and preventable hospital stays; rates of high school graduation, number of children in poverty, rates of violent crime, access to healthy foods, air pollution levels, and liquor store density
“The health of a community depends on many factors, including individual behaviors, the quality of health care, education, jobs and the environment,” said Health Commissioner Susan R. Cooper, MSN, RN. “While rankings like this can assist in seeing where the strengths and weaknesses are in a community, ultimately it takes all of us -- public health, health care, business, education, and government sectors and individuals -- to take steps and create programs and policies that will help people lead healthier lives.”
The online report, available at www.countyhealthrankings.org, includes a snapshot of each county in Tennessee with a color-coded map comparing each county’s overall health ranking. Inline with state averages, Sevier County puts in the following numbers. The percentage of people who report being in fair or poor health is at 22%, putting Sevier slightly above the state average in this category. On average Sevier County residents lose 4 days per month on account of poor physical health. One day per month is reported as being spent in poor mental health. Our 8.7% rate of low-birthweight infants is slightly below the ststewide average of 9.5%. Researchers used the above measures to assess the level of overall health or “health outcomes” for the state by county
The County Health Rankings lists the following as Tennessee’s top 10 for health outcomes:
Listed by County Health Rankings as the 10 counties with the poorest health outcomes are as follows:
“It’s important to remember that the health challenges that Tennesseans face can be improved,“ said Randy Wykoff, MD, MPH, TM, dean of the College of Public Health at East Tennessee State University and interim director of the Tennessee Institute of Public Health. “This report provides every county in the state the information that it needs to identify its greatest health challenges and determine which should take immediate priority.”
