WASHINGTON, June 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. News
& World Report, in collaboration with the Aetna
Foundation, an independent, charitable and philanthropic affiliate
of CVS Health, today released the fourth annual Healthiest
Communities rankings. This year's rankings are accompanied by tools
highlighting county-level COVID-19 vaccine rates and other pandemic
data, as well as editorial explorations of equity and mental health
– key components that can shape overall health and well-being.
In the 2021 rankings, the top five Healthiest Communities score
above the national average in at least eight of the 10 categories
used in the analysis, including Los
Alamos County, New Mexico – the first community to repeat as
No. 1 since the launch of the Healthiest Communities rankings in
2018. In the 2021 rankings, the County posted its highest scores in
the Housing, Population Health and Infrastructure categories.
Douglas County, Colorado, came in at No. 2, followed
by Falls Church, Virginia, at
No. 3. Loudoun County,
Virginia, moved to No. 4, and Broomfield County, Colorado, rounded out the
list at No. 5.
"The coronavirus pandemic has inflicted deep wounds on multiple
aspects of a community's well-being – from which it will take time
to recover. A county's population health metrics, including mental
health, health outcomes and access to care, have been adversely
affected, along with major hits to education, economy and equity,"
said Kim Castro, editor and chief
content officer at U.S. News. "This year's Healthiest Communities
rankings name not only the leading counties in the country, but
also produce data reflecting other predictors of individual and
community health as the country begins to recover."
The 2021 rankings are accompanied by editorial pieces exploring,
for example, connections between community vaccine data and other
health-related metrics. The U.S. News editorial team also examines
issues of equity around Hennepin County,
Minnesota – a top 500 county that was the site of
George Floyd's murder by a police
officer in May 2020 – and of mental
health in Hawaii, where
Honolulu County posted the
country's highest score in that subcategory of the rankings.
"Over the past year and a half, the COVID-19 pandemic has
exacerbated several issues that we knew existed within the health
care system, including the interdependence between the health of
our communities and our personal health." said Karen Lynch, president and chief executive
officer of CVS Health Corporation. "While our country appears to be
turning a corner on the pandemic, with more people getting
vaccinated everyday, we understand that there is a lot of important
work that still needs to be done to address the underlying
community health issues that were brought to the forefront during
the pandemic."
Separate from the rankings, the COVID-19 tools, which track case
numbers, death rates, unemployment and more, have been updated to
include vaccine data. These tools complement the rankings data to
highlight the relationship between the coronavirus pandemic and
community health. Based on a U.S. News analysis, counties that
performed well in the Healthiest Communities rankings have slightly
lower COVID-19 case rates than average.
Some other key findings from the 2021 Healthiest Communities
Rankings include:
- Overall, Iowa counties are
most heavily represented in the top 500, with 61 counties in the
state making the list.
- No. 1 Los Alamos County had the 17th-lowest COVID-19 case rate
overall out of places included in the Healthiest Communities
analysis, with 2,731 cases per 100,000 residents over the course of
the pandemic as of May 31, 2021.
- Counties with more educated and higher-earning populations
tended to perform better on mental health measures included in the
Healthiest Communities analysis.
The Healthiest Communities rankings, underwritten by the Aetna
Foundation, are part of a $100
million commitment by CVS Health and its affiliates to
making community health and wellness central to the company's
charge for a better world. The Building Healthier Communities
initiative, which will be funded over five years by CVS Health and
the CVS Health and Aetna foundations, builds upon the outstanding
tradition of community investment by CVS Health and Aetna and
advances CVS Health's purpose of helping people on their path to
better health.
The Healthiest Communities rankings and accompanying analysis
are based on an evaluation of approximately 3,000 communities
nationwide across 84 health and health-related metrics in 10
categories, from Education and Population Health to Infrastructure
and Environment. The project serves as a tool to inform residents,
community health leaders and elected officials about policies and
best practices for better health outcomes by assessing which
communities offer their citizens the greatest opportunity to live a
productive, healthy life.
To compile the rankings and create the overall Healthiest
Communities project, U.S. News partnered with the University of Missouri Center for Applied Research
and Engagement Systems (CARES), a research institution skilled in
community health assessment. Overall, the rankings are based on
metrics drawn from sources such as the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. Much of the data used to compile the 2021
Healthiest Communities rankings came from periods predating the
COVID-19 pandemic and would not have been affected by the
pandemic's impact on communities.
The Healthiest Communities rankings are the centerpiece of
a platform featuring in-depth reporting and analysis on community
and public health issues, as well as comprehensive data covering
the full spectrum of factors that influence population health.
Healthiest Communities is part of U.S. News' Government Rankings
initiative, which measures government performance at the
international, state and local levels and includes the Best
States, Best Countries, and Cities projects.
As a part of the 2021 Healthiest Communities rankings, U.S. News
will be hosting the second annual Community Health Leadership
Forum webinar series. Themes will cover lessons learned amid the
COVID-19 pandemic, equitable vaccine distribution and addressing
disparities in maternal health. The first webinar, featuring CVS
Health President and CEO Karen
Lynch, will be on July 1 and
sessions will continue through the summer. Register here.
2021 Healthiest Communities- Top 10
*See the full
rankings here
Top 10 Counties
- Los Alamos County, New
Mexico
- Douglas County, Colorado
- Falls Church, Virginia
- Loudoun County, Virginia
- Broomfield County,
Colorado
- San Miguel County,
Colorado
- Pitkin County, Colorado
- Howard County, Maryland
- Morgan County, Utah
- Routt County, Colorado
2021 Key Measures
Top 5 Communities for Health Outcomes
- San Juan County,
Washington
- Marin County, California
- Carver County, Minnesota
- Stevens County, Minnesota
- Hunterdon County, New
Jersey
Top 5 Communities for Access to Health Care
- Olmsted County, Minnesota
- Montour County,
Pennsylvania
- Suffolk County,
Massachusetts
- Johnson County, Iowa
- Perry County, Kentucky
Top 5 Communities for Mental Health
- Honolulu County, Hawaii
- Pitkin County, Colorado
- Fairfax County, Virginia
- Santa Clara County,
California
- San Mateo, California
For more information on Healthiest Communities, follow
coverage on Facebook and Twitter using
#HealthiestCommunities.
About U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News &
World Report is the global leader in quality rankings that empower
citizens, consumers, business leaders and policy officials to make
better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting
their lives. A multifaceted digital media company with Education,
Health, Money, Travel, Cars, News and 360 Reviews platforms, U.S.
News provides rankings, independent reporting, data journalism,
consumer advice and U.S. News Live events. More than 40 million
people visit USNews.com each month for research and
guidance. Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered in
Washington, D.C.
About the Aetna Foundation
The Aetna Foundation is an
independent, charitable and philanthropic affiliate of CVS Health
Corporation (NYSE:CVS). For more information,
visit www.aetnafoundation.org.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-news-and-aetna-foundation-release-2021-healthiest-communities-rankings-301321335.html
SOURCE U.S. News & World Report