COUNTY HEALTH

RANKINGS:
A GO-TO
RESOURCE
Jordan Reese, Senior Communications
Officer, RWJF
Chuck Alexander, Principal and Director,
Public Health, Burness

BUILDING A CULTURE OF
HEALTH IN AMERICA
THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION

From 2000 to today

RWJF has awarded
over

$5.2 billion

in
grants to improve
health and health
care.

Our History

What is
a
Culture
of
Health?
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Nearly one-fifth of all

Americans live in
neighborhoods that make
it hard to be healthy.
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OPIOID RESEARCH FROM RWJF

Evaluating the impact of state opioid
regulation on pain management for Medicare
patients, UGA

OPIOID RESEARCH FROM RWJF

Developing and pilot testing a policing-based
intervention to address mental health
problems in crime and drug hot spots, George
Mason U.

OPIOID RESEARCH FROM RWJF

Studying the effect of interorganizational
relationships and infrastructure variation on
public health efforts to address prescription
drug abuse, JHU

OPIOID RESEARCH FROM RWJF

Supporting PRISM Awards' 20th anniversary
to recognize accurate depictions by the
entertainment industry of addiction to drugs,
alcohol, and tobacco

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NEW MEASURE: DRUG OVERDOSE

DEATHS
Drug Overdose Deaths are the number
of deaths due to drug poisoning per
100,000 population.
Why include the measure? The
United States is experiencing an epidemic
of drug overdose deaths. Since 2002, the
rate of drug overdose deaths has
increased by 79 percent nationwide, with
a 200 percent increase in deaths involving
opioids (opioid pain relievers and heroin)

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2016 COVERAGE

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2016 COVERAGE

"This is an issue that affects everybody, from all walks of life,

and there are things that can be done about this," said Catlin.
"We don't have to sit back and watch this happen. There are
things every community can do to save lives, such as
tracking prescriptions, safe disposal of drugs, increased
access to prescription medicine that can reduce overdoses,
and more training of first responders (on) how to administer
those drugs.
- Bridget Catlin, PhD, MHSA Senior Scientist
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2016 COVERAGE

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2016 COVERAGE

A deeper dive into the figures suggests that opioid abuse

does not alone account for the dramatic increase in
overdoses. While accidental deaths from recreational
drug use are unquestionably on the rise, the topline
figures encompass a wide variety of substances, from
antidepressants and stimulants to street drugs to
hormones and antibiotics.

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2016 COVERAGE

Drug overdoses are "all around us," said Julie Miller,

administrator of the health department in rural
Boone County, West Virginia, where the report
identified the overdose death rate at more than 81
per every 100,000 people.
"A couple of years ago, people were surprised to
hear of a fatal overdose, she said. Now, it's not out
of the ordinary."
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2016 COVERAGE:

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2016 COVERAGE:

Its such a fast-moving

problem, said Deborah
Deatrick, senior vice
president of community
health for MaineHealth.
We have to get a
handle on this and do
something quickly.

Overdose deaths are higher

in rural areas because those
areas tend to have higher
rates of poverty, according to
Amanda Jovaag, a researcher
who worked on the report. It
also takes emergency medical
technicians longer to respond
to overdoses in rural areas.
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HOW MEASURES ARE SELECTED

Actionable measures
Valid, reliable,
recognizable
County-level
Free or low cost
Up-to-date as possible
Fewer measures better
than more
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Measur
es

Health Outcome
Ranks

Two Ranks

Health Factors Ran

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KEY RESOURCE & SPOKESPEOPLE

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How we work with journalists

We support media outlets proven to conduct solid, unbiased reporting on public health and
the social and emotional factors that affect health.

Our support is both programmatic and strategicNPR vs. The Atlantic

We are always looking for new relationships within but, most importantly, just outside the
public health space.

We are seeking more often audiences of journalists to share our vision of health, which is
that it is encompassed in all things. (National Press Foundation, Columbia Journalism, AHCJ,
SJN, NABJ, NAHJ, Native Health News Alliance and others

THANK YOU!
www.countyhealthrankings.org

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