Scott Williams, swilliams@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader File Photo An ongoing effort to promote healthier food choices in Shawano County and Menominee County encourages consumers to seek out fresh food, such as the fruits and vegetables available at this stand last summer in Shawano.
Shawano County and Menominee County are getting low scores again in a ranking of the healthiest counties in Wisconsin.
An annual report issued by the University of Wisconsin-Madison school of health puts Shawano County at 45th out of 72 counties statewide.
Menominee County remains at the bottom with a ranking of 72, where it has been for many years as the least healthy county in the state.
It is the eighth consecutive year that UW has teamed with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to rank the state’s healthiest counties.
Ozaukee County, located just north of Milwaukee, retains its No. 1 ranking as the healthiest.
The ranking is based on such factors as a county’s prevalence of cigarette smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, excessive alcohol consumption and other health issues. It also takes into account air pollution, water quality, violent crime, preventative health care, and poverty, among other issues.
Jaime Bodden, health officer for the Shawano-Menominee Counties Health Department, said the yearly report is helpful in assessing the success of existing public health efforts and in pointing the way to continued improvement.
“It is easy to get discouraged because a lower ranking doesn’t necessarily reflect the positive work and initiatives going on in our communities,” Bodden said. “However, we can use the rankings to keep the conversation about health improvement going which motivates us to continue to engage partners on a wide range of health issues.”
Shawano County has ranked as low as 63rd statewide in previous rankings, but it has remained in the mid-40s for the past three years.
Among the health initiatives under way in both Shawano and Menominee counties are efforts dealing with early childhood development, alcohol abuse, mental health, food security and health care insurance.
Jerry Waukau, health administrator for the Menominee Tribal Clinic in Menominee County, said the tribe is working with partners to address its public health issues.
“Being ranked 72 has its challenges and opportunities,” Waukau said.