VERO BEACH – The annual health rankings have been released that provide a revealing snapshot of how health is influenced by where we live, learn, work and play in Indian River County.
The research was provided by the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, which is part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program.
Indian River County ranked #13 on the chart. The health factors include excessive drinking, alcohol-impaired driving deaths, sexually transmitted infections, adult obesity, and adult smoking.
Percentage of driving deaths involving alcohol is 36% in our county. And, about 25% of Indian River adults report a BMI of 30 or more.
Here’s the top 15 rankings by counties in Florida:
- 1. St. Johns (SJ)
- 2. Collier (CO)
- 3. Sarasota (SS)
- 4. Seminole (SO)
- 5. Martin (MA)
- 6. Lafayette (LY)
- 7. Santa Rosa (SR)
- 8. Palm Beach (PB)
- 9. Clay (CL)
- 10. Monroe (MO)
- 11. Okaloosa (OL)
- 12. Lee (LE)
- 13. Indian River (IR)
- 14. Flagler (FL)
- 15. Sumter (ST)
About 23% of people under the age of 65 do not have health insurance. What’s also sad is that 23% of Indian River County children are living in poverty.
Although our county has a few high numbers when it comes to health risks, we’re certainly not the worst.
