St. Mary's County, Maryland has been named the sixth healthiest county in Maryland, according to the annual County Health Rankings released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. The county's ranking reflects an improvement from 2021 and 2022.
The County Health Rankings provides a snapshot of a community's health and helps to identify issues and possible solutions to create healthier places to live, learn, work, and play. For more than a decade, the Rankings' data, guidance, and stories have broadened the nation's understanding about the many factors that shape health.
St. Mary's County's overall health and well-being were evaluated based on four areas that influence health: health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and the physical environment. The Rankings allow for relative comparisons between counties within a state on these factors. Factors used in the ranking assessment included adult smoking rates, obesity rates, alcohol-impaired driving deaths, and low access to primary care.
The 2023 Rankings focus on the connection between civic health and thriving communities. Civic health reflects the opportunities people have to participate in their communities, starting in local communities and representing promise, opportunity, belonging, and shared responsibility.
"In St. Mary's County, we have an incredibly engaged community of organizational partners and residents working together to advance health," said Dr. Meena Brewster, St. Mary's County Health Officer. "This diverse, multi-sector partnership helps us to achieve better health outcomes for our community and support quality of life for those who live here."
While St. Mary's County ranked in the top quartile of Maryland jurisdictions, there are still areas of ongoing challenge. Rates of adult smoking, obesity, alcohol-impaired driving deaths, and low access to primary care were areas where the county lagged behind other Maryland jurisdictions.
The Rankings are available online at www.countyhealthrankings.org. In addition to the county-level data, the Rankings also feature What Works for Health, a database of more than 400 evidence-informed strategies to support communities as they implement local action around public health.
If interested in supporting health in St. Mary's County, consider visiting healthystmarys.com and joining the Healthy St. Mary's Partnership.
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