March 26, 2014
(LEESBURG, Va) Loudoun County ranks as the healthiest county in Virginia, according to the fifth annual County Health Rankings, released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. The rankings are available at www.countyhealthrankings.org.
“The rankings help us to understand what factors have influenced good health in our community and how we can continue to make Loudoun County a healthy place to live, learn, work, and play,” said Dr. David Goodfriend, Director of the Loudoun County Health Department. “They are an important component of Loudoun County’s public health needs assessment and community health improvement plan (available at www.loudoun.gov/healthcheck), and help focus efforts on areas for improvement.”
The County Health Rankings rank the overall health of nearly every county in all 50 states. The rankings allow counties to see how well they are doing on 29 factors that influence health including smoking, high school graduation rates, employment, physical inactivity, and access to healthy foods. The rankings provide county-to-county comparisons within a state. This year’s rankings also feature several new measures including housing, transportation, and access to mental health providers.
“The County Health Rankings show us how health is influenced by our everyday surroundings—where we live, learn, work, and play,” said Bridget Catlin, Director of the County Health Rankings. “The County Health Rankings often provide the spark for businesses, community planners, policy-makers, public health officials, parents, and others to work together for better health.”
This is the second honor for the Loudoun County Health Department in as many days. On Tuesday, officials announced that the Loudoun Health Department has received national accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board, becoming the first health department in Virginia – and among the first in the nation – to do so.
More information about the Loudoun County Health Department is online at www.loudoun.gov/health.