Health Survey Ranks Lewis County in Lower Half of State

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A national ranking of counties’ overall health has placed Lewis County at 26th among 39 counties in Washington state.

Released Wednesday, the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps report prepared by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute delved into a variety of health outcomes and factors that shed light on several factors affecting health and quality of life in counties throughout the nation.

In Lewis County, the report shows a general overall decline in the health of the county’s general population, but several factors do show slight improvement.

According to the report, Lewis County maintains rates worse than the state average in several critical areas, ranking 31st of 39 counties in health behaviors. Adult obesity outpaced the state at a 32 to 27 percent rate, access to exercise opportunities were lower than the state at a 60 to 89 percent rate, and adult smoking was four points higher than the state average.

When it comes to the availability of physicians’ care, there’s one physician for every 1,939 residents, compared to 1 for every 1,203 across the state.

Lewis County also ranked low in social and economic factors, placing 32nd in a category that included outcomes such as the number of people who have completed some college — 53.7 percent compared to the state average of 67.8 percent — and unemployment, which was measured at 11.2 percent at the time of the study. One major statistic, children in poverty, outpaced the state average 26 percent to 19 percent.

Despite the outreach efforts from the county and several public service organizations to reach all populations through the county, Lewis County Public Health and Social Services Director Danette York said the numbers are still concerning.

“These aren’t a surprise, but they’re disappointing,” York said. “We’ve gotten worse than what we were in the previous two years. We were 21st two years ago, so when I looked at this I immediately asked what happened.”

Several outcomes in the study also pointed to signs of positive movement with collaborative efforts to improve the overall health of people in the county. The high school graduation rate of 80 percent was 1 percent better than the state, and 222 reports of violent crime were much fewer than the average of 301 across the state. Other categories, such as severe housing problems, excessive drinking and air pollution were either lower to or comparable to the state average.

York said she and her staff studied the report and saw how the information contained lines up with the results of the local Community Health Improvement Plan, which brings together stakeholders such as both hospitals in Lewis County, Valley View Health Center, representatives from Centralia College and other organizations that closely deal with health issues. 



“We look really closely at adult smoking, adult obesity, teen birth and the graduation rate,” York said. “We consider the information current, and we compare it to what we learn during our own assessments — the behavioral health survey, youth survey and more.”

Community partnership is key to making any efforts to improve the overall health of the county’s residents. York noted it’s important to see that those efforts don’t just center on physical health, but mental and emotional well-being and also quality of life — such as driving time to work, livability of communities and proximity to services.

“The rural nature (of Lewis County) plays into it. Where you live has a large bearing on your health,” York explained. “Even things like proximity to markets that have fresh fruits and vegetables is big. Trails, sidewalks and other livability factors are also big parts of this.”

York said she is pleased to see the improvement in graduation rates compared to the state average, as a major focus of the county health department’s effort is geared toward youth.

“To me, that’s nice to see,” York said. “That’s one of the focuses and priorities we try to address, keeping kids in school and letting them know of opportunities such as college and trade schools.”

While Lewis County is on the lower tier of the state’s 39 counties, it still outpaces several surrounding it, save for Thurston, which was ranked eighth-healthiest in the state. Grays Harbor was ranked 36th, Cowlitz 32nd and Pacific 38th.

York pointed out the work of the CHOICE Regional Health Network, which aims to provide help to the most vulnerable populations in a five-county area: Grays Harbor, Mason, Thurston, Pacific and Lewis counties. The network collaborates with several organizations from local governments to health providers and social service organizations in an effort to reach people and improve overall health.

“We work really closely with our five-county region, and if you look at the numbers you see Thurston is the only one significantly better in the health survey,” York said. “The rest of us, the four rural counties, are pretty close with the numbers and we have some work to do.”