St. Mary’s County ranks in the top quartile of Maryland jurisdictions as the sixth healthiest county in Maryland, according to the annual County Health Rankings, released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. This ranking reflects improvement from 2021 and 2022. Rates of adult smoking, obesity, alcohol-impaired driving deaths, and low access to primary care indicated some areas of ongoing challenge for St. Mary’s County when compared to the other 23 Maryland jurisdictions.
The County Health Rankings is an annual report that ranks the overall health of nearly every local jurisdiction in the United States. The Rankings provides a snapshot of a community’s health, and helps to identify issues and possible solutions to create healthier places to live, learn, work and play. For more than a decade, the Rankings’ data, guidance and stories have broadened the nation’s understanding about the many factors that shape health.
The Rankings allow for relative comparisons between counties within a state on overall health and well-being. These comparisons are based on an assessment of four areas that influence health: health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and the physical environment. These factors are rated using local-level data from measures that include smoking, education, physical inactivity, preventable hospitalizations, and the availability of primary care physicians.
The 2023 Rankings focus on the connection between civic health and thriving communities. Civic health reflects the opportunities people have to participate in their communities, starting in local communities and representing promise, opportunity, belonging and shared responsibility.
“In St. Mary’s County, we have an incredibly engaged community of organizational partners and residents working together to advance health,” said Dr. Meena Brewster, St. Mary’s County Health Officer. “This diverse, multi-sector partnership helps us to achieve better health outcomes for our community and support quality of life for those who live here.”
The Rankings are available online at www.countyhealthrankings.org. In addition to the county-level data, the Rankings also features What Works for Health, a database of more than 400 evidence-informed strategies to support communities as they implement local action around public health. If interested in supporting health in St. Mary’s County, consider visiting healthystmarys.com and joining the Healthy St. Mary’s Partnership.
