In comparison to the other 86 counties throughout Minnesota, Sherburne County ranks 21st for health outcomes and 19th for health factors, according to the 2017 County Health Rankings report released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute released in April.

 

For health outcomes, the report takes into consideration a number of criteria to determine how healthy people are in each county. It looks at the number of premature deaths (before age 75), percentage of adults reporting fair or poor health, the number of physical and mental unhealthy days and the percentage of live births with low birthweight.

 

Sherburne County was at 11% for adults reporting fair or poor health, compared with a state average on 12%.

 

The number of poor physical health days was 3.2, compared to a state average of 3.0. The county scored better than the state average in poor mental health days - 2.8 to 3.0.

 

Low birthrate outcomes were the same as the state average of 6%.

 

For health factors, the report looks at a variety of measures that affect the future health of communities, such as high school graduation rates, access to healthy foods, rates of smoking, obesity, teen births, percentage of uninsured residents, ratio of healthcare providers to population, violent crime, injury deaths and commuting times.

 

Sherburne County’s smoking percentage is the same as the state average of 16%.

 

The county is at 29% for adult obesity compared to 27% for the state. And the county has a higher rate of excessive drinking, 23% compared to a state average of 21%.

 

The county’s teen births number (per 100,000) is lower at 16 than the state average of 21. And the percentage of children in poverty is 8% compared with a state average of 13%.

 

The county is well above average for the percentage of high school graduates - 92% compared with 83% statewide. And the median household income is higher than the state average - $79,500 to $63,500.

 

The percentage of uninsured people in the county is 6% compared with 7% in the rest of the state. But access to care within the county is below average. The ratio of primary care physicians to population is 2,340:1 compared with 1,100:1 in the rest of the state. It’s the same for dentists - 2,620:1 compared to 1,480:1 and mental health providers - 940:1 to 510:1 in the state.

 

County residents do have access to healthcare, they just have to travel further to find it. And driving is one of the factors that brings the county’s rank down, with 83% of people driving alone to work compared with 78% statewide and 52% with a long commute compared with 30% statewide.

 

For more details from the report, check http://www.countyhealthrankings.org.