State’s Overall Health Ranking 4th

In Nation

HARTFORD — Connecticut is healthy and getting healthier!

According to the latest national survey by the United Health Foundation, Connecticut is the fourth healthiest state in the nation in 2010. That is an improvement from seventh in 2009.

The annual report, “America’s Health Rankings: A Call to Action for Individuals and Their Communities,” ranking Connecticut fourth in the nation in overall health for 2010, focuses on four groups of health determinants: behaviors; community and environment; public and health policies; and clinical care.

Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire were respectively ranked above Connecticut as the top three healthiest states in the nation.

“We are very proud to be identified as one of the healthiest states in the nation,” said Department of Public Health Commissioner J. Robert Galvin, MD. “The hard work and collaboration among public health professionals, health partners, health care providers, policymakers, and countless others throughout the state have made the health of the people of Connecticut a top priority. While we are happy with the improvements we’ve made over the last year, there is always work to be done in the world of health.”

The report identified Connecticut’s low prevalence of smoking, lower prevalence of obesity, low percentage of children in poverty, and high immunization coverage as strengths.

Challenges identified in the report were high prevalence of binge drinking and high incidence of infectious disease.

Nationwide, the report says, since the 2009 edition, overall health in the United States has increased slightly from 20.3 percent to 21.3 percent above the 1990 baseline. The increase is primarily due to declines in preventable hospitalizations, infectious disease, prevalence of smoking and violent crime.

America’s Health Rankings is the longest running annual assessment of the nation’s health on a state-by-state basis. America’s Health Rankings is the result of a partnership between United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association, and Partnership for Prevention. The report can be viewed online at                              AmericasHealthRankings.org.