The 2018 County Health Rankings, released March 14, showed Eaton County ranking high on overall health, coming in 16th out of 83 Michigan counties for health factors and 21st for health outcomes, in the top 25 percent of all counties.
Rankings are based on a model of population health that focuses on factors that, if improved, can help make communities healthier. Health outcomes are based on sickness and death in a county, while health factors are based on measures that can affect future health outcomes.
Rankings show where Eaton County is doing well and provides information about what is working.
The county is strong in the areas of clinical care and social and economic factors, where it ranked 11th and 12th, respectively, in the rankings.
The report can be used to build on successes and encourage community leaders to take action and create programs and policy changes in areas to be improved.
For example, the Eaton County Great Start Collaborative is working to increase social support to parents, reduce child poverty, and increase school readiness to improve educational outcomes. For more, visit https://www.eatonresa.org/services/eaton-great-start/. //
The rankings also show factors that are making residents unhealthy and what more can be done to make the county a healthier place:
*Eaton County is at risk for poor health when it comes to behaviors that affect health; smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity, where it ranked 34th out of 83 counties.
*Rankings show the county needs to do more to improve health behaviors and parts of the physical environment that discourage physical activity. Potential action steps include stepping up efforts for substance abuse prevention and obesity prevention and increasing the number of sidewalks so people have more options for physical activity.
The rankings also highlight the importance of physical environment to health:
*Eaton County ranked poorly at 73rd in the state for the physical environment, with scores that include measures of air pollution, drinking water violations, severe housing problems and motor vehicle driving commutes.
The ranking was partly driven by municipal drinking water system violations, which were appropriately reported and addressed which shows why water providers and regulatory agencies monitor and oversee municipal drinking water systems.
Rankings help the community learn about steps being taken to improve resident’s health in the county:
*Eaton Rapids Health Alliance, an Eaton Rapids based coalition has a focus on increasing physical activity, access to healthy foods, improving access to mental health resources, and decreasing smoking and substance use. For more, visit https://www.eatonrapidshealthalliance.org/.
*The Eaton County Substance Awareness Advisory Group focuses on improving health by reducing the negative effects of alcohol and substance misuse, tobacco use, and prescription drug misuse. For more, visit www.eatondrugfree.com.
Everyone in the community has a stake in being healthy. Working together, county residents can make the community a healthier place to live, learn, work, and play. Learn more about the 2018 County Health Rankings at www.countyhealthrankings.org.
