(Photo: Courtesy MGN Online)
RICHMOND, Virginia (WFXR) – Three cities in southwest Virginia are among the least healthy “counties” in the Commonwealth according to the University of Wisconsin’s Institute of Public Health’s annual County Health Rankings, released Wednesday.
This 2021 ranking reports that the five healthiest “counties” in Virginia are Arlington County, Loudoun County, Falls Church City, Fairfax County, and Alexandria City.
However, the five “counties” with the worst health – starting with the least healthy – are the cities of Petersburg, Galax, Covington, Martinsville, and Hopewell, health officials say.
“We at the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) are extremely proud that Arlington and the rest of the Northern Virginia region are in as good health as recognized by the University of Wisconsin Public Health Institute,” said State Health Commissioner Dr. M. Norman Oliver. “We know that many factors affect public health, and the Commonwealth has made great strides in recent years, but we also know that Virginia and its leaders need to fill health care gaps as we move out of COVID -19 pandemic move out. We will not give up our efforts to create healthy communities and improve healthy outcomes for all people of Virginia. “
Here is a breakdown of the general health rankings (from 1 to 133) for the “counties” in Southwest and Central Virginia according to the county’s 2021 health rankings:
- Alleghany County: 84
- Amherst County: 55
- Appomattox County: 75
- Bath County: 64
- Bedford County: 32
- Bland County: 53
- County Botetourt: 18th
- City of Buena Vista: 94
- Campbell County: 44
- Carroll County: 62
- Charlotte County: 116
- Covington City: 131
- Craig County: 51
- Danville City: 127
- Floyd County: 61
- Franklin County: 67
- Galax City: 132
- Giles County: 91
- Grayson County: 69
- Halifax County: 103
- Henry County: 107
- Highland County: 68
- Lexington City: 79
- Lynchburg City: 72
- Martinsville City: 130
- Montgomery County: 20th
- Nelson County: 58
- Patrick County: 97
- Pittsylvania County: 90
- Pulaski County: 83
- Radford City: 81
- Roanoke City: 110
- Roanoke County: 34
- Rockbridge County: 46
- City of Salem: 47
- Wythe County: 77
According to the VDH, even in the healthiest districts of Virginia there are still health inequalities and inequalities within their borders, similar to the national level.
“If we look beyond aggregated data and examine the results of various ethnic, racial and other often marginalized groups, we can see that there are health differences between groups in the Commonwealth,” the VDH said in a statement to the County Health Rankings on Wednesday. March 31. “The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted these health disparities. VDH remains committed to making all people in Virginia aware of these inequalities and encourages local health departments to bring these issues to the attention of their communities and to work with all populations to create the conditions necessary for optimal health and optimal wellbeing are required. ”
According to the department, the data used to compute the ranking for 2021 is from 2019 and earlier, which means it does not yet reflect the impact of the pandemic or programs that health districts established last year to improve health have performed in their communities. In other words, the general health impact of the pandemic will not be visible until the County Health Rankings data from 2022.
Health officials say the 2021 ranking highlights the differences in health and opportunities by location, as well as health barriers that disproportionately affect communities of black people and low-income families.
For more information on the 2021 County Health Rankings, please visit this link. For more information on health resources across Virginia, please visit here.
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