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North Carolina Climbs to 35th in America's Health Rankings

Published: 2010-12-13    Views:108 reads

The good news for North Carolina in the latest America's Health Rankings is that the Tar Heel State has moved up two spots in the annual assessment. The bad news is that North Carolina still ranks as only the 35th healthiest state.

Vermont tops the list, which was released Tuesday, followed by Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Hawaii. Mississippi again ranks as the least healthy state, with Louisiana, Arkansas, Nevada and Oklahoma also in the bottom five.

The 21st annual rankings - published jointly by the United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention - assess the 50 states on 22 core measures ranging from the prevalence of smoking and obesity to the percentage of the population covered by health insurance.

The study cited three strengths for North Carolina - the nation's 12th lowest rate of binge drinking (12.9 percent), a 91.4 percent rate of immunizations for children ages 19 to 35 months, and a low occupational fatalities rate (4.2 per 100,000 workers).

The state's challenges include a high percentage of children living in poverty (24.5 percent), a high infant mortality rate (8.3 per 1,000 live births) and a low high school graduation rate (68.6 percent).

North Carolina fared better than all but one of its neighbors. Virginia ranked No. 22, while Georgia (36th), South Carolina (41st) and Tennessee (42nd) helped to make North Carolina's ranking look a tad better. Georgia and South Carolina did post two of the best improvements in the study - Georgia moved up seven spots, while South Carolina jumped five spots.

Source from:Biz Journals
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