The 2016 edition of the County Health Rankings have been released, and show that Allen County has made significant strides in many areas, while facing continued challenges in others.

The latest rankings provide some interesting data:

• Since 2011, Allen Countians experiencing poor or fair health days have decreased by 17%
• Fewer Allen County residents experience poor physical or mental health days
• Our adult smoking rate has decreased from 22% to 17% since 2011
• Since 2011, our primary care physician-to-resident ratio has dropped by two-thirds, reflecting our focus on and commitment to health care provider recruitment and retention
• In the same time frame, Allen County’s mental-health-providers-to-population ratio has decreased by 95%
• Our high school graduation rate has increased by 15 points, and is well above Kansas as a whole
• Our unemployment rate has dropped from 7.8% to 5.0% since 2011, one of the best rates in Southeast Kansas
• The 2016 rankings show Allen County with one of the top physical environments in the state, with excellent air and water quality, and affordable housing
• The number of our residents who have a long commute (over 30 minutes per day) is well below the state average; the farther people commute, the higher their blood pressure and body mass index, and the lower their levels of physical activity
• The rate of premature death in Allen County, though it has gone down over time, remains above US and Kansas averages
• Adult obesity and physical inactivity remains a problem, with both indexes above state and national rates

Overall, Allen County ranks 91 out of 101 reporting Kansas counties, a modest drop from the 2015 rank of 87. The County Health Rankings are produced each year by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The rankings provide a snapshot that can be used to help gauge progress in improving health, relative to other counties around the state and the nation.

Allen County has used the County Health Rankings to guide investments in our built environment (over 20 miles of  trails added in the last decade), improvements in recreational opportunities, recruitment of new medical and dental providers, recruitment of new businesses and industries to Allen County, support of local Farmers’ Markets and Community Gardens, and a focus on reducing the uninsured rate and access to quality healthcare. Of course, many of these improvements take a great deal of time to be reflected in statistical data and in actual health outcomes, but we remain confident that our overall trend is positive, and will be reflected in future rankings, and more importantly, in healthier residents and more vibrant communities.

Learn More: 2016 Allen County Health Ranking