San Benito County ranked 20th out of 58 counties in health outcomes in the 2019 rankings recently released.
San Benito County Public Health Officer Gail Newel recently broached the numbers for the Hollister City Council and San Benito County Board of Supervisors.
She particularly noted the county’s standing as 20th for health outcomes and 22nd for health factors.
Newel said the health outcomes take into account such factors as length of life and the quality of life measured by illnesses and various diseases, while the health factors include such categories as tobacco rates, sexual activities, food, exercise, and economic and social factors like walkability and road safety.
“Not bad,” she said of the 20th ranking. “We’re pretty good. We have dropped a little bit over the last few years.”
She said two issues really jump out that led to the slight drop, diabetes and the incidence of teen traffic fatalities.
The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program is a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
To read the breakdown of health statistics for San Benito County, go here:
Photo caption: Mission 10 run in San Juan Bautista on Jan. 27, 2018.
