FCHWC at The 2011 County Health Rankings Conference

(Little Rock) — Representatives from the Falkner County Healthy Weight Coaltion presented Tuesday, March 29, at an annual Sustainability Conference in North Little Rock. The conference, called “Funding Your Future,” is sponsored by the Hometown Health Improvement branch of the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH).

As part of the conference, the 2011 County Health Rankings, a comprehensive, county-by-county report that measures how healthy people are and how long they live, was released, revealing significant improvements in Faulkner County’s health rankings in comparison to other counties statewide.

Paul K. Halverson, DrPH, ADH director and state health officer, said, “The battle for better health in Arkansas, like in the rest of the U.S., is focused on issues such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, cancer and tobacco use. While there are many other health concerns that affect us all, these are the problems that cause most of the serious illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths in our state. This data gives us the tools we need to organize our efforts locally in counties with very different needs.”

During the three-day conference, health officials from every county in the state will discuss ways to fund health initiatives that are specifically targeted to local area concerns based on results from the health rankings from each county. Presentations from different parts of the state will show how the rankings from last year have been put to use and highlight successful programs. Hometown Health coalitions are made up of community members who work with each other to find the best approaches to solving health problems in their own hometowns.

For more information on the 2011 County Health Rankings, visit the Hometown Health Improvement page at www.healthy.arkansas.gov.