Monroe gets good health rankings

Despite a higher rate of excessive drinkers and alcohol-related driving deaths, Monroe County has among the best health ranking compared to the rest of the state.

The Florida Department of Health last week released its 2017 assessment of the county’s state of health, determined by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation with information from nonprofits, health-care facilities, schools, local police departments and others.

For health outcomes such as behavior, length and quality of life, Monroe County ranked No. 10 among the state’s 67 counties. For health factors like smoking, obesity and excessive drinking, the county was sixth -- meaning lower incidences than other areas — statewide.

“Our county is doing really well — there are just certain things we’re trying to work on,” said Alison Morales, public information officer for the county Health Department.

There are lower percentages of adult smokers, adult obesity, physical inactivity and sexually transmitted infections in the Florida Keys than there are across the state, yet higher numbers of excessive drinking and drunk-driving deaths. The percentage of driving deaths with alcohol involvement was 31 percent compared to the statewide average of 28 percent.

A high rate of medically uninsured residents of 22 percent of the county’s 77,482 people contributed to a ranking of No. 36 for clinical care. There are fewer mental-health care providers, yet a better ratio of primary care physicians and dentists per person.

“That’s always an issue with us in the Keys, access to care, along with the number of people uninsured for health coverage,” said Monroe County Health Department Administrator Bob Eadie.

Severe housing problems are much more common in the Keys than statewide, with 29 percent of households having at least one of four problems: Overcrowding, high housing costs or lack of a kitchen or plumbing. The statewide average was 22 percent.

Eighteen percent of adults report drinking heavily in Monroe County, 1 percent higher than the state average, according to the survey.

“We hope to decrease the rate of liver cirrhosis in our county while educating the community on the importance of drinking in moderation,” said Monroe County Coalition Executive Director Sue Moore. The coalition works to minimize substance abuse.

While it was not included in the rankings, suicide remains at the top on a list of concerns by county Department of Health officials, as reported by the Keynoter in November.

“That’s always very concerning,” Eadie said. “We have to look at alcohol and substance abuse because those impact our health care, too. It permeates into so many other areas and has a huge ripple effect.”

This story was originally published April 5, 2017 at 10:09 AM with the headline "Monroe gets good health rankings."