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Over 3,000 communities were evaluated to compile the list, according to U.S. News & World Report, using metrics including the areas' educational systems, average population health, infrastructure and environments.
This data is sourced from agencies like the U.S. Center for Disease Control, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Putnam County ranked 156th.
“During this unprecedented year, the Healthiest Communities initiative continues to highlight important components of community health while synthesizing the new COVID-19 metrics, providing an in-depth look at the impact of the disease on communities,” said Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer at U.S. News. “U.S. News brings 30 years of high-quality health journalism and data expertise to this project highlighting social determinants of health and providing context to the current state of each community.”
While the rankings were established using data collected before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers said that the data they collected showed strong correlations between communities' COVID-19 rates and the indicators of community health that were used.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought attention to the existing disparities in our health care system that have a significant impact on underserved communities,” said Garth Graham, Vice President of Community Health and Chief Community Health Officer, CVS Health. “Using data from the Healthiest Communities rankings can help create insight on how to better address COVID-19 at the community level, while also helping health care organizations develop solutions to combat the health inequities that have plagued our underserved communities for many years.”
The rankings were funded in part by CVS Health as part of its "Building Healthier Communities" initiative, a $100 million dollar initiative through which the company aims to make "community health and wellness central to the company’s charge for a better world."
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