How Healthy is Henderson County?
Published Feb. 6, 2023
By Andrew Mundhenk, Henderson County Dept. of Public Health
We are fortunate to live, work and play in Henderson County for many reasons, including being ranked as one of the healthiest counties in North Carolina.
Henderson County ranks as the second-healthiest county in Western North Carolina and among the healthiest statewide, according to the 2022 County Health Rankings recently released by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. The annual County Health Rankings provide a snapshot of how health is influenced by where we live, learn, work and play. For 2022, our county ranked 12th for health outcomes and 11th for health factors out of 100 counties in North Carolina.
The health outcomes rank is the most important as it represents how healthy a community is right now. It reflects both the physical and mental well-being of residents through measures representing length and quality of life, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Henderson ranked 19th in the length of life and seventh in quality of life. The overall ranking was a slight dip from 11th in 2021.
Health factors look at what the community can modify to improve length and quality of life – predictors of how healthy a community can be in the future. These are metrics such as clinical care quality and access as well as social and economic factors. Henderson County maintained its 11th ranking in this metric from the year prior. The full county rankings report, which includes additional metrics and data, can be found at www.countyhealthrankings.org.
Of course, we know these measures aren’t perfect, as they rely on data available in all counties in the United States. We also know health outcomes and factors are not equitably distributed among all the populations in our community. But this data does provide a way to track overall fundamental progress and associated trends with community health.
When it comes to the overall health of our community, there is still plenty of work to be done. Ultimately, it’s up to our community to set its expectations for quality of life and community health. To improve and promote the health of county residents, every three years Henderson County undergoes a Community Health Assessment (CHA) process. The Health Department partners with community stakeholders to develop more detailed local health data and pick the top priorities for the community to address.
Health priorities for the most recent 2021 Community Health Assessment include mental health, substance misuse, physical activity and nutrition, safe and affordable housing and interpersonal violence. More information about the Community Health Assessment, and other local community data, can be found at www.hendersoncountync.gov/health.
Andrew Mundhenk is the Communications Manager for the Henderson County Department of Public Health.