Ulster County Sees Best Improvement in Health Outcomes in the Mid-Hudson Region According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Kingston, NY – Ulster County Executive Mike Hein is pleased to announce that Ulster County has now leaped 8 positions from its ranking one year ago according to data released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, ranking 21 out of 62 counties state-wide for health outcomes. This ranking is the largest year-over-year improvement in health outcomes throughout the Mid-Hudson Region, and is among the top improvements throughout the State of New York for 2015. This also marks a significant improvement from Ulster County’s ranking of 35 out of 62 in the category just four years ago.
“UlsterCounty has a longstanding commitment to addressing the health care needs of the citizens of our community,” said County Executive Hein. “My administration is committed to working toward making Ulster County the healthiest county in New York State, and the results announced this week are a testament to our collective work towards that goal. I want to thank our Commissioner of Health and Mental Health Dr. Carol Smith, as well as her dedicated team of professionals at our Department of Health for their hard work towards building a healthier Ulster County.”
“The County Executive laid out a vision to make Ulster County the healthiest county in the state of New York; that vision is now paying off, as evidenced by the significant improvements that we have seen in these health outcome scores,” said Dr. Carol Smith, Commissioner of Health and Mental Health.
“Initiatives such as the implementation of uniform healthy after school snack guidelines; prohibiting smoking in public parks and recreation areas; awareness and education campaigns to mitigate childhood obesity; support for pedestrian and bike friendly communities and extensive collaboration with community partners to prevent chronic disease are just a few of the areas that we have invested in, and that are now making a real and positive difference in people's lives."
The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program is a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. The annual County Health Rankings measure vital health factors, including high school graduation rates, obesity, smoking, unemployment, access to healthy foods, the quality of air and water, income, and teen births in nearly every county in America.
