Mar 19, 2019 4 min read

Fayette County was once again ranked one of the unhealthiest counties in the state, with only Philadelphia ranking worse, according to a study released by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The Population Health Institute 2019 County Health Rankings ranks Fayette County 66 out of 67 counties in the state. It’s the second year in a row Fayette County has held that number.

While Washington and Westmoreland counties are in the middle of the pack, ranking at 33 and 25 respectively, both trended downward from last year. In 2017, Washington County was listed at the 22nd spot, and Westmoreland boasted the 17th spot. Locally, Greene County was the only one to improve its ranking, moving from 63 last year to 62 this year.

The rankings are based on numerous factors including the physical environment, social and economic factors, access to and quality of medical care and healthy behaviors leading to the length and quality of life.

Obesity rates in Fayette County rose, according to the study, with 41 percent of the county’s residents over 20 having a Body Mass Index greater than 30 kg. In 2014 and 2015 that number was at 39 percent and in 2012 that number was at 36 percent.

While Fayette led the state in adult obesity, Greene County weighed in at 33 percent, Washington County is at 31 percent and Westmoreland County shows 30 percent of adults over 20 are obese.

The state average for adult obesity is at 30 percent.

The county is also rising in the number of reported sexually transmitted infections, the study noted.

In 2007, 172 in 100,000 residents reported sexually transmitted infections. In 2016, the most recent year’s data provided in the report, that number increased to 294. While Fayette’s numbers rose, however, residents still fall way below the state average of 445 cases reported for each 100,000 people.

Not all the news was bad. The report noted that Fayette County is showing improvement when it comes to the number of residents getting mammograms and flu vaccinations. While statewide numbers show 44 percent receiving mammograms, Fayette County hit the 40 percent mark, according to the data. In 2012, the last time those numbers were recorded, the county had only about 33 percent of those who should be receiving mammograms getting them.

Across the state about half of those eligible receive the flu vaccine. Fayette County’s number hit 41 percent, noted the study, up from 38 percent when it was last recorded in 2012.

Also trending better in Fayette County was a showing of just 7 percent of the population as uninsured.

Greene County did well when it came to alcohol impaired driving deaths, the percentage of residents who are insured, preventable hospital stays, mammography screenings, air pollution and access to primary care physicians.

At 6 percent, Greene County also placed well on the unemployment scale.

Despite the lower rate for alcohol-impaired driving fatalities, Greene County and Washington County had 21 percent of its residents reporting excessive drinking, compared to 18 percent in Fayette County and a state average of 21 percent.

Fayette County comes in at 28 percent of its children living in poverty. Washington has 12 percent and Greene County has 22 percent of its children living in poverty. The state average is 17 percent.

New this year, the study took into consideration housing problems and how that affects health.

Under severe housing problems, which looks at the percentage of households with at least one of four housing problems (overcrowding, high housing costs, lack of kitchen facilities, or lack of plumbing facilities), Fayette Country came in at 13 percent.

Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties were ranked at 10 percent for severe housing problems.

The healthiest county in Pennsylvania, according to the report, is Union County, followed by its adjoining counties of Centre and Chester, all located in the central part of the state.