County Executive Mike Hein Continues Progress Towards His Goal Of Making Ulster County The Healthiest County In New York State
Kingston, N.Y. – Upon taking office, Ulster County Executive Mike Hein set forth an aggressive goal to work together to make Ulster the healthiest county in New York State. This was no small task because in 2010, the first year of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation national health rankings, Ulster was ranked in the bottom half, thirty–third out of New York State’s sixty-two counties (33/62). Today, with the release of the 2016 Robert Wood Johnson County Health Rankings, Ulster County has improved once again to now rise to sixteenth in New York State, a better than 50% improvement.
“This isn’t about being ranked towards the top of New York State’s sixty-two counties... it’s really about the extraordinary community-wide efforts that have helped us leap from 33rd to #16 in such a short period of time,” said County Executive Hein. “I realized from the very beginning that improving our community’s overall health was both an enormous challenge and a great opportunity and the real winners would be our amazing citizens. There are so many variables that affect community health and our health plays such a pivotal role in the overall strength, sustainability and quality of life in a community. There is no doubt that a healthy community is a much more desirable place to live, work, raise a family, and to grow a business. This goal of important public health has also helped shape many of the decisions that we make every single day. Ulster County government has invested substantial resources in positively impacting the factors that influence community health. We have improved our environment by investing in renewable energy and becoming one of the first net carbon neutral counties in the nation. We are continuing to build a world class trail system and supporting bike and pedestrian friendly infrastructure throughout our local municipalities. And, to address the substantial negative health impacts associated with generational poverty, we have provided innovative and successful job training programs plus we’ve made affordable, college level education readily available right in Mid-town Kingston. All this in addition to leading successful efforts to implement cutting edge health related public policy. We have much more work to do, but we are making tremendous progress and that is something we can all be very proud of. This has been an amazing community partnership and I thank everyone involved for their tremendous contributions.”
Dr. Carol Smith, Ulster County Commissioner of Health and Mental Health
“If you asked most people what community health means, they would talk about healthcare, yet as important as access to quality health care is, the research and data clearly demonstrates that community health is so much more than healthcare. The reason is, you cannot separate people from the entire context in which they lead their lives. This includes safe and affordable housing and neighborhoods, easier access to fresh and healthy food, clean air and water, education and job opportunities, and doing everything possible to make sure that people receive the preventative care and education they need to stay well. Under County Executive Hein’s leadership, we’ve brought together multiple community partners to work toward better health outcomes for all and we are delighted with the results,” said Ulster County Commissioner of Health and Mental Health, Dr. Carol Smith.
The County Health Rankings consist of a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. It compares counties within each state on more than 30 factors that impact health, including social determinants such as education, jobs, housing, exercise, transportation, and more. Over the past several years the Rankings, available at www.countyhealthrankings.org have become an important tool and measuring stick for local communities working to build an ever improving Culture of Health.
