Winneshiek County is ranked as the healthiest county in Iowa

A new report from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute ranks Winneshiek County as the healthiest county in Iowa.   The County Health Rankings were developed through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 

"Public Health presents new challenges every day.  Winneshiek County Public Health welcomes these rankings as an opportunity to recognize and build upon our successes but, there's always room for improvement," said Winneshiek County Public Health Administrator Krista Vanden Brink.

The County Health Rankings Report ranks health outcomes and health factors separately.  Winneshiek County ranked first in the Health Outcomes category comprised of morbidity and mortality.  This means Winneshiek County residents tend to live longer and describe their health as good.  
Winneshiek County ranked third in the Health Factors category, which includes Health Behaviors, in which Winneshiek County ranked 1st and includes behaviors such as diet, exercise, avoiding smoking; Clinical Care, in which Winneshiek County ranked 9th, which includes the number of uninsured individuals and ease of finding a healthcare provider; Social and Economic Factors, in which Winneshiek County ranked 10th,  which includes education, income, and community safety;  and the Physical Environment, in which Winneshiek County ranked 21st, which includes air quality, access to grocery stores and the percentage of fast-food restaurants.

"We realize that the rankings are only a snapshot in time and not a complete picture.  We will use this information with our stakeholders as we continue to review our community health assessment to find the best ways to build on our successes and address the challenges," says Vanden Brink.

The rankings are comprised of many different studies including random telephone calls to persons willing to answer survey questions.

For more information about the County Health Rankings, please visit www.countyhealthrankings.org