County Places 10th in Health Rankings
St. Mary’s County ranks 10th in the state for health, according to the 2016 County Health Rankings by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, released recently and publicized by MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital in the Healthy St. Mary’s Partnership newsletter.
Maryland’s healthiest county is Montgomery, and the least healthy is Baltimore city, according to the report.
Rural counties like St. Mary’s had higher rates of smoking, obesity, child poverty, teen births, and the most adults without health insurance, when ranked against urban areas.
According to the report, 30 percent of St. Mary’s County adult residents have a body mass index of 30 or higher, so they fall under the definition of obesity. About 15 percent of St. Mary’s County adult residents are smokers. Both of these factors put county residents at a higher risk of health problems, ranking from moderate to severe. Twenty-four percent of county adults who are 20 and older do not engage in any physical activity during their leisure time, which offers a whole host of potential health problems and contributes to the obesity issue.
The county has one primary care physician for every 2,490 residents and one dentist for every 2,010 residents. There are 790 residents for every one mental health care provider.
The county ranks seventh in social and economic health factors because 92 percent of the students here graduate high school and at least 68 percent have some college.
There are several organizations in the county that have been established to address these problems alongside residents. MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital supports the Health St. Mary’s Partnership, which has formed action teams to address healthy eating and active lifestyles, help to stop smoking, behavioral health, and access to high-quality health care.
MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital is a full-service community hospital, delivering state-of-the-art emergency, acute inpatient and outpatient care in Leonardtown, MD. MedStar St. Mary’s provides advanced technology with a dedication to excellence in all services provided. The not-for-profit hospital has been named among the nation’s Top 100 Hospitals and is an eight-time recipient of the Delmarva Medicare Excellence Award.
In addition, the hospital received the Maryland Performance Excellence award at the Platinum level in 2014, the highest in the state. The staff is committed to providing quality and compassionate medical care for patients by coupling innovation with its outstanding team of medical staff members, associates, and volunteers.
For more information and one-click access to a full list of resources available at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital, visit their Leader Page.
