The 2023 County Health Rankings (Rankings) were recently released, and Livingston County ranks fourth overall, out of Michigan’s 83 counties.
According to the Rankings, Livingston County has a high percentage of physically active adults, a higher flu vaccination rate than the state and national averages, and a high percentage of residents with health insurance coverage.
There are also opportunities for improvement, including Livingston County’s adult obesity rate, the rate of adult smokers, substance abuse rates, and transportation in both length of commute and driving alone to work.
The Rankings are released each year by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute’s County Health Rankings and Roadmaps program and are a result of compiled data from nearly every county in the United States. The data show how healthy a county is, what is making people sick, and builds awareness around what areas to concentrate on as we work to improve the health of our community.
Good health is essential to living a full and happy life, but many factors influence how well and how long we live. Access to affordable housing or well-paying jobs, opportunities for a good education for our community’s children, and many other elements of our lives, all influence our health; however, these important factors are not equally accessible for everyone who lives in our community. The Rankings illustrate where we can take action to improve health and reduce barriers or gaps that exist within Livingston County.
The Livingston County Health Department is currently working to address the identified opportunities for advancing of the health of our community. The Livingston County Health Department participates in various community collaborations/workgroups and partners with our local health systems to work toward the goal of good health for all. These areas for improvement will also be considered during the development of our next Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), which is planned to begin in 2024. The current Livingston County CHIP can be viewed at https://bit.ly/3zszTc1.
For more information, visit www.countyhealthrankings.org or call LCHD at (517) 546-9850.
