This (April 2-8) is National Public Health Week, and to coincide with this focus on public health, the 2012 County Health Rankings have been released. For Greene County, the news is mixed.
The good news is, our county has moved up in the NY State County Health Rankings, from no. 60 (of 62 counties) in 2011 to no. 52 this year. The reason for the improvement is unclear; it may well be that other counties have simply had more slippage in health care outcomes over the past year than Greene has. Columbia County, our neighbor across the Hudson River, slipped from 43rd to 45th place, for example.
Regardless of the cause, it would be good to have more public discussion of Greene’s health outcomes. A ranking of 52 out of 62 remains a failing grade by anyone’s standard. The health of Greene’s citizens is something that every local politician, regardless of ideology, should start making a priority. It would be great if Greene continued to improve over the course of 2012, so when next year’s state rankings come out, we would no longer find ourselves in the bottom quadrant.
