The 2013 edition of County Health Rankings & Roadmaps was released March 20. A combined effort of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the study is now in its fourth year. Based on the criteria used in the program, Rochester and Monroe County rank 33 of the 62 counties in New York State for the health outcomes measured.
The rankings measure a variety of data points in order to rank the counties. The group describes some of these points as
the rate of people dying before age 75, high school graduation rates, unemployment, limited access to healthy foods, air and water quality, income, and rates of smoking, obesity and teen births.
The program covers a number of broad health topics and details specifics within each topic. Monroe County's worst rankings are for morbidity and for physical environment. The county ranks 43 of 62 for each. The best ranking is for clinical care, where the county is 9. The ratio of patients to primary care physicians is lowers than much of the state, as is the rate for screenings for diabetes or mammograms.
Regionally, Rochester's neighboring counties to the south have a better rank. Livingston County ranks first in the state. Ontario County is 11 while Wyoming County is 14. The other counties in the region do not rank as well. Genesee comes in at 37, while Wayne County is 46 and Orleans County 52.
Upstate counties with major cities do not fare well in the rankings. Only Albany ranks higher than Monroe County, with a 27. Buffalo and Erie County have a rank of 56 and just to their north, Niagara County is lower with a 59. Elmira and Chemung County rank 60 and their Southern Tier neighbors, Binghamton and Broome County, rank 48. Syracuse and Onondaga County rank 34.
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