WINSTON-SALEM, NC – Forsyth County has been ranked 36 out of North Carolina’s 100 Counties in health outcomes, according to a United Way supported report on county health rankings released March 29.
The United Way, in partnership with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, released the report, an analysis of length and quality of life, every year. It compares every county in the United States in 58 different factors that researchers believe affect a person’s health. Thirty-five of those factors are used in the ranking of counties within each state.
“This report shows us that where we live matters to our health and not everyone has the chance to reach their full health potential,” said Cindy Gordineer, United Way of Forsyth County president and CEO. “The rankings call attention to the many factors including jobs, housing and education, that impact health. Education, financial stability, health, basic needs and thriving individuals and neighborhoods stand at the foundation for strengthening our community.”
The overall ranking of 36th is an improvement over 2016, when the county was ranked 43. For 2017, Forsyth County’s highest category ranking was 14 in clinical care, which measures the percent of population under age 65 with out health insurance, ratio of population to primary care physicians, the percentage of Medicare enrollees ages 65-75 that have HbA1c monitoring and the age of Medicare enrollees age 67-69 that receive mammography screenings.