The West Virginia Bureau for Public Health released “West Virginia County Health Profiles, Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health”.  This document was a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

The top five counties in clinical care in order are Cabell, Kanawha, Ohio, Monongalia, and Harrison.  Over all Ohio County faired well in the publication. The County Health Rankings provides a measure of the overall health in West Virginia.

The profiles get a snapshot of their overall health and the factors (i.e., determinants) that influence health in a county.  The community will be able to see how its county’s health compares to that of other counties in their state.The rankings allow public health and the community to raise awareness about the multiple determinants of health via the media and other outlets.  The data also assists in initiating community health assessment and planning efforts and can be use in celebrating successes and reinvigorating existing community health improvement efforts.  The data can help inform policy makers and community leaders about the multiple determinants of health and community health improvement planning.

More information and data from around the country can be found at:   http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/ .