DANVILLE, Ill. (WAND)- Vermilion County ranked worst in the state for overall health outcomes in an annual national report, while Piatt County ranked among the ten best.
The rankings come from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s annual County Health Rankings and Roadmaps report. They consider factors like rates of smoking, obesity, sexually transmitted infections, violent crime, high school graduation, pollution, and access to various kinds of medical care.
Among the factors that affected Vermilion County’s rank were teen birth rates (49/1,000 compared to a state rate of 23/1,000), violent crime rates (705/100,000 compared to a state rate of 403/100,000) and rates of children in poverty (31 percent compared to a state rate of 17 percent).
Piatt County reported factors better than the state average like rates of children in poverty (8 percent compared to 17 percent statewide), violent crime (167/100,000 compared to the state rate of 403/100,000), sexually transmitted infections (231.9/100,000 compared to a state rate of 561.4/100,000) and adult smoking (14 percent compared to the state rate of 16 percent).
Sangamon and Macon Counties also ranked in the bottom quarter of counties for health outcomes.
The full report is available here.
