San Joaquin County lands at 46 of 57 in state health rankings
The 2018 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, released earlier in March, ranked San Joaquin at number 46 out of 57 counties in California, behind Merced and ahead of Shasta — but county officials are questioning whether the results reflect recent changes.
A collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the CHRR used examined both physical and mental health factors when compiling the rankings.
Adult obesity, sexually transmitted diseases and physical inactivity were among San Joaquin’s greatest physical health concerns, according to the report, along with teen pregnancy and access to exercise opportunities. Some of the larger mental health concerns included violent crime and unemployment, along with children in single-parent homes and children living in poverty.
Despite the low ranking, Barbara Alberson, senior deputy director of policies and planning for San Joaquin County Public Health Services, said that some of the data used by the CHRR came from as far back as 2013 and does not reflect recent improvements the county has made from 2017 to 2018.
“For example, when you look at teen births, we went from 35 to 29 (per 1,000 females ages 15 to 19). Sexually transmitted infections dropped from 502.6 to 495.5 (per 100,000 people), that was a big concern, and we got adult smokers to cut back. The number of children living in poverty even dropped from 24 percent to 19 percent. For our county, that’s a pretty amazing fete,” Alberson said.
Although Alberson listed many improvements, she also acknowledged areas in which San Joaquin still fell behind, citing a lack of health care providers in the county.
Many health care providers trained in the county end up leaving for areas where they can make more money, she said, leaving fewer professionals available to provided much-needed services.
Many of the issues still needing work are complex, Alberson said, and often involve cooperation between multiple county agencies and organizations to find solutions such as Safe Routes to Schools, an international program that encourages children to walk to school. San Joaquin Public Health has been working with other county departments to improve crosswalks and install new signs and lights near schools, Alberson explained.
Public Health has also been reaching out to schools and parents to explain the benefits of walking to school such as helping children develop exercise habits and focus in class, Alberson added, and encouraging more community members to walk with groups of parent volunteers walking children to school in what she called “walking buses.”
“This is an important strategy to promote everyday physical activity which helps to fight obesity. And, when residents feel comfortable to be out and about, it also helps to promote a sense of community and foster community pride. Safe Routes to School projects, which make the streets safer so children can walk and ride their bikes to school, are just one successful example of how this concept is being put into practice across our county,” Alberson said.