County health rankings offer annual data snapshot of Buncombe’s health

Press release:

Buncombe County, N.C. – The County Health Rankings offer a snapshot of how healthy we are today and how healthy we will be in the future by giving us an idea of where we compare to other counties, the State, and the top-performing areas of the nation. The Rankings consider factors such as such as high school graduation rates, access to healthy foods, rates of smoking, obesity, and teen births. In short, the Rankings give us a glimpse into factors that shape critical areas of health and safety that influence our health and our quality of life in North Carolina and in Buncombe County and we can use them as a tool to measure our progress as we continue to find practical, innovative ways to raise the quality of life for our residents.

Buncombe’s Rankings in North Carolina:

Buncombe County ranks 17^th out of 100 NC counties for overall Health Outcomes.  Health Outcomes are an indicator of how healthy we are today and include factors such as how long people live (length of life) and how healthy people feel while they are alive (quality of life). While we are still in the top 20% in the State, an area of concern continues to be a high rate of infant mortality.

Overall, Buncombe County ranks 7^th out of 100 NC counties for Health Factors, which are indicators of how healthy we will be in the future.  Health factors include measures such as access to medical care, high school graduation rates, violent crime, drug and alcohol abuse, and healthy living information.

Buncombe County is improving over time in areas such as preventable hospital stays, violent crime, and diabetic monitoring.  Our rates of adult obesity, physical inactivity, health insurance status, and mammography screenings are trending the same as in years past.  However, our County has seen an increase in the number of sexually transmitted infections and higher rates of children living in poverty. In regards to children living in poverty, the BCHHS Health Division Director, Jan Shepard notes that, “While the overall trend since 2002 shows higher rates of children living in poverty due to the impact of the recession, we anticipate seeing less children living in poverty as the economy continues to improve.”

Buncombe ranked 69^th for physical environment, which measures air and water quality, severe housing problems, and number of commuters driving alone to work. All WNC counties appear in the list of worst air-quality counties in the state due to quality of air moving into our region from other parts of the US and improves in the eastern counties.

Buncombe County Strategies for Continued Improvement:

Buncombe County continues to partner with our community to support initiatives that are practical and evidence based. Some examples are:

• Community Health Improvement Program (CHIP):Health and Human Services continues to work with our staff, our CHIP partners at MAHEC and community agencies to closely monitor and take action to improve our County’s key health priorities identified in the Community Health Assessment.
• Community Service Navigators and Pop-Up Markets: Community Service Navigators are connected to safety net systems in our County and build strong, trusting relationships within their communities to help offset factors that can lead to poor health and safety concerns. The fresh food Pop Up Markets are an example of a community-based program that provides healthy foods, preventative health screenings and connection with others.
• Family Justice Center:A best practice, evidence based response to domestic violence. Community partners are leveraging resources to say eNOugh to domestic violence through a coordinated, comprehensive response.
• Buncombe County Comprehensive Care Center:C3@356 is a care model that offers a continuum of services to ensure that clients do not slip through the cracks of the behavioral health system. This model diverts individuals from costly ER visits, EMS services, and reduces involvement with the criminal justice system.
• ACE Collaborative and MARC Grant (Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities): To date, the focus of the ACE Collaborative has been to build strong coalitions with agencies to build trauma informed practices into the clinical setting. Now through the MARC Grant, we are expanding this work out into the community, aligning the efforts of our neighborhoods and families to increase our capacity for more resilient behaviors and safer choices.

“The Rankings give us an opportunity for continued improvement. Just like inspections of roads and bridges that we all rely on to take us safely from place to place, we have to monitor the health of a community to understand where we might need to shore up our efforts.  These rankings reflect the complex nature of good health and wellbeing by taking into consideration factors like housing, stability of relationships, access to greenways, and employment.  When we pull all of these elements together in a data snapshot, we can use it in meaningful ways to improve the quality of life that we all rely on here in Buncombe County,” adds Shepard.