Kenosha County ranks in the bottom quarter of all counties in the state when it comes to health, according to a recent ranking.
   The county ranks 58th out of the state’s 72 counties in the 2005 Wisconsin County Health Rankings, the same position as last year, and local officials think there is room for improvement.
   The rankings, conducted by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute for the third year, gives a “health checkup” to each of the counties in the state. Numbers came from available data for each county and then a random sampling of residents in each county.
   Counties are ranked in both health outcomes — mortality rates and general health status —and health determinants — a ranking of factors such as health care, health behavior, socioeconomic status and physical environment.
   Waukesha was rated the healthiest county and Menominee the least healthy. Racine was ranked 55th and Milwaukee 65th.
   Kenosha could be doing better, according to Patrick Remington, director of the institute and the rankings.
   “It’s not very good,” Remington said.
   Areas of concern for Remington include the county’s total health determinant rank (58th), the 50th best mortality rate and being ranked 57th in general health status.
   “These are what predict future health, and there are not really any of these measures where Kenosha County is in the top half of the state,” Remington said. “There’s no question that there’s room for improvement in Kenosha County’s measures.”
   Gary Brown, executive director of Kenosha Area Family and Aging Services Inc., also said the ranking should raise some worry for the community.
   “It’s not good news for Kenosha County,” Brown said. “There are many things to give us some concerns about.”
   But Cindy Rafenstein, assistant director of nursing for Kenosha’s Division of Health, said that any improvements for the county might not be immediately registered.
   “It takes a long time to make any changes to these numbers,” Rafenstein said. “The numbers don’t move abruptly. We’re working on some of our areas of health determinants, but it will take time to evoke changes.”
   Rafenstein cited a program aimed at reducing the number of smokers in the county. Nearly 34 percent of county residents smoke, the state’s third-highest percentage.
   In addition, the county has received a grant with Blue-Cross/BlueShield to address the county’s high chlamydia numbers.
   She also stressed the “Healthy People Kenosha County 2010” initiative, which has been running the last five years, that aims to provide resources and assistance to Kenoshans with health questions and concerns.

Some improvement    

Remington said the county saw slight improvements in some individual categories this year, but more progress is necessary.
   “The Kenosha mortality rate is improving, but not as much as it should be,” Remington said. “Mortality is on pace to drop 4 percent over the next 10 years, but that’s as much as it should be dropping.”
   Rafenstein was encouraged by some of this year’s health improvements for the county.
   “We have a low level of motor vehicle deaths and we’re making an impact on vaccination for adults, which is important with bird flu cases,” Rafenstein said.
   The county ranks 11th best in the state in motor vehicle deaths, with a rate of 12 per 100,000 people; it also ranks 12th best for pneumococcal vaccinations and 13th for influenza vaccinations.
   Remington said the numbers, such as being ranked last in ozone levels and bottom five ranking in two air quality categories, should spur Kenosha to act.
   “There are health concerns that need to be addressed,” Remington said. “And the numbers are a good kind of a wakeup call to Kenosha County to improve health care in the short term and the long term.”
   But improving these numbers means broaching a difficult subject.
   “The constant battle is limited funding,” Brown said. “We need money in the area of prevention, but we’re spending millions on treatment, and it’s still not enough for people who need help. We’re just trying to respond to the situation we’re in today, and no one wants taxes to go up. It’s a dilemma.”
   Remington said clean air policies, tobacco-free coalitions and community health initiatives could improve Kenosha’s rankings, but they also cost money.

Other poor rankings    

One set of health determinants brought another concern for improvement attempts. Kenosha ranked in the bottom quarter of counties in socioeconomic factors such as high school graduation rate (63rd) and divorce rate (61st) and health behaviors such as teen birth rate (61st) and sexually transmitted diseases (66th). Brown said assistance in these categories needed to start with families.
   “It’s a whole issue of parenting,” Brown said. “Kids need to make better decisions and have the parents and the community behind them. There’s no easy answer to getting long-range solutions for these issues.”
   The current impact of the report lies in guiding people, both Brown and Rafenstein said.
   “I hope the report is a vehicle to make people more aware of health issues such as smoking and ozone levels,” Brown said. “I hope bringing this information out can be a catalyst to finding solutions. Because of that, this information is vital.”
   And Rafenstein said the importance for the county is seeing where it should focus health efforts.
   “It gives a basis for decisions we’re making,” Rafenstein said. “We can use this as a platform to choose what programs to focus on and evaluate the outcome of our current programs.”