Using the website www.countyhealthrankings.org, I was able to review a series of various indicators of the counties of New York and see how they compare to each other. These indicators came from self reported health surveys used as a general measure of health related quality of life in a population.

Over all St Lawrence county ranked pretty low in New York, coming in at 57 out of 62. In mortality it was above the state average and ranked 54. Across the board, St Lawrence county ranked poor in morbidity in the categories of fair health, physical health days, and mental health days when compared to the other counties of New York. The reasons for these poor rankings could be linked to some other data that was also collected in the surveys.

When it came to adult smoking, obesity and inactivity, St Lawrence county was well over the national average and also the New York average. There have been numerous studies linking a higher mortality and morbidity to these factors. Some other interesting numbers that support the low ranking is the limited access to healthy foods and recreational facilities both of which were below the national and New York average.

When it came to ranking Clinical care, St Lawrence came in at 52. What surprised me the most was how big the primary care provider shortage was. In the county it is 1,712:1 with the nation average being 631:1 and in New York 781:1. This huge shortage could also account for the 108 reported preventable hospital stays, which is more than double the national and New York averages.

These surveys are very helpful in seeing trends and in making correlations between them. By far the biggest concern I believe is the primary care provider shortage. With more providers, more people would have access to information, health check ups and the ability to make health changes in a safe way. Hopefully this website helps people realize there is a problem and there is a need to fix it.