PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County remains in the state’s upper echelon for overall health, a national study suggests.
Clallam County was just below the state average for health outcomes and health factors, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
Jefferson County was No. 4 among 38 ranked counties for health outcomes, which are based on length and quality of life.
The March 29 report ranks Jefferson County No. 9 for health factors such as behaviors, clinical care, social and economic conditions and the physical environment.
“That is certainly consistent with the trend in recent years,” said Dr. Tom Locke, Jefferson County health officer.
“Jefferson County has consistently been in the upper quartile,” Locke said.
“It seems to maybe be a little higher than that at this point based on the things that this assessment measures, things like high school graduation rates and affluence factors, and some of the vital statistics like death rates and life span.”
Clallam County ranked No. 21 for health outcomes and No. 20 for health factors in the 2017 report.
The annual rankings use a variety of measures such as high school graduation rates, access to healthful foods, smoking rates and obesity to compare counties.
Researchers measured more than 30 factors that influence how long and well people live, including education, housing, employment, transportation and access to health care, officials said.
The rankings are standardized for nearly every county in the United States, providing an “apples to apples” comparison from one county to the next, Locke said.
“The downside is, in order to achieve that, the data is really sketchy,” Locke said.
“It’s sort of a rough estimate of community health,” he added, “but it’s still useful.”
Both North Olympic Peninsula counties have seen modest improvements in their health rankings in recent years.
Jefferson County was No. 6 for health outcomes and No. 7 for health factors in 2016. Clallam County was No. 21 for health outcomes and No. 22 for health factors last year.
In 2015, Jefferson County ranked No. 15 for health outcomes and No. 11 for health factors. Clallam County was No. 27 for health outcomes and No. 23 for health factors in 2015.
“It’s great to see that we’re continuing to make steps in the right direction,” said Dr. Christopher Frank, Clallam County health officer.
“But obviously, we still have a long way to go in terms of giving everyone in Clallam County an opportunity for excellent health.”
Frank and Locke agreed that the community health assessment being used in both counties provides a more accurate measure of community health.
“Our local data assessment is more important to us in terms of setting priorities and direction for new programs,” Frank said when reached by cellphone while on vacation.
In the past, Clallam County’s health rankings have been skewed by low high school graduation rates that did not take into account an online program headquartered in Forks, Locke said.
Locke, a former Clallam County health officer, said past graduation rates for Clallam County were “not completely valid.”
“That’s one of the limitations of this kind of measurement, having one area that is especially bad,” Locke said.
The 2017 health rankings show an 80 percent graduation rate in Clallam County and a 77 percent graduation rate in Jefferson County.
Comparing the two counties, Clallam County had slightly higher rates of adult smoking (15 percent to 14 percent), adult obesity (26 percent to 25 percent), uninsured residents (13 percent to 11 percent) and people in poor or fair health (14 percent to 12 percent).
The differences were well within the error margin, the study said.
Topping the list for health outcomes in 2017 were San Juan (1), King (2) and Island (3) counties.
The lowest-ranking counties for health outcomes were Pend Oreille (38), Ferry (37) and Wahkiakum (36) counties.
The highest-ranking counties for health factors were King (1), San Juan (2) and Snohomish (3) counties.
Rounding out the list for health factors were Ferry (38), Yakima (37) and Grays Harbor (36) counties.
Garfield County was the only unranked county in the state.
To view the rankings and corresponding data, go to www.countyhealthrankings.org.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
Dr. Christopher Frank
