Philadelphia ranks dead last on health. And with budget cuts . . .
Philadelphia was 67th out of 67 counties in Pennsylvania for the third year in a row. The wealthier suburban counties were all in the top 10. Yes, there's a pattern.
Philadelphia ranks dead last on health. And with budget cuts . . .
Michael Yudell, Associate Professor, Drexel University School of Public Health
By Michael Yudell
Here at The Public’s Health we’ve reported on the poor health conditions faced by many Philadelphians. The City of Brotherly Love is, for example, the poorest big city in America, and also its fattest, and poverty and obesity and overweight are associated with a host of lifelong health problems.
And it's factors like these that add up to Philadelphia's ranking dead last for health outcomes in Pennsylvania, according to the recent County Health Rankings Report. The report is a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, and it can be instructive to examine the measures that affected the rankings for individual counties at both the top and bottom of the list.
Some of the wealthiest counties in Pennsylvania were deemed among the healthiest in the state — Chester (No. 2), Montgomery (5), and Bucks (7) — while more urban Delaware County ranked a worse-than-average 37. The New Jersey suburbs, all of which are less-well-off than their northern counterparts across from New York City, were all in the middle of the Garden State's rankings or worse: Burlington (10), Gloucester (14), and Camden (18).
Philadelphia was 67th out of 67 counties for the third year in a row (and this on the third such report). The overall ranking, to put it mildly, is a failing grade. And among the categories that go into it, premature deaths and general poor health both are also at the very bottom statewide.
Contributing to these awful outcomes is the fact that the city also holds the poorest ranking for low birthweight babies. Tragically, more than 1 in 10 babies born in Philadelphia weigh less than 5 lbs. 8oz., an indication that too many of Philadelphia’s children are getting off to a rough start. From the get-go, these kids face difficult odds — low birthweight babies are more likely to have greater developmental problems (both physical and cognitive), and have increased lifetime risks for cardiovascular disease, respiratory conditions, and type 2 diabetes.
According to the report, 1 out of 5 Philadelphians are in poor or fair health, a state of affairs driven by the high rates of smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, and excessive drinking. Other factors adding to this burden include a high rate of unemployment, an outrageously high rate of children living in poverty (36 percent of kids under 18 in Philadelphia compared to 19 percent statewide, which is also pretty high), and a sky-high violent crime rate. A deteriorated physical environment just makes matters worse. Air pollution in the city is poor (though improving), most city residents have limited access to recreation facilities and healthy foods, and fast food restaurants make up a whopping (and nauseating) 55 percent of all city food establishments.
So what do we do to fix this problem?
Nationwide, the push for austerity measures to balance budgets and decrease stimulus spending is making it harder to implement solutions to these challenges and is having a dangerous impact on public health programs. As most economists agree, austerity in a downturn only makes things worse.
Here in Pennsylvania, we haven’t seemed to learn that lesson, and Gov. Corbett’s budget proposal — with massive spending cuts and no new taxes — includes deep cuts to public welfare and education programs. Back in February, Philadelphia Health Commissioner Donald Schwarz called the cuts “alarming,” and worried about their impact on the city’s most vulnerable, including those with mental illness, the homeless, HIV patients needing hospice care, and the elderly living in the city-run nursing home.
With the poor health outcomes that Philadelphia and other counties in the state are seeing, can we really afford the types of cuts that the austerity disciples are advocating? Are we prepared to bear the human cost of continued cuts to our social safety net?
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Comment removed.- Well said.
Philly government has traditionally ignored the notion that governing is, essentially, a series of experiments. You study a problem, you propose a fix, you implement a fix, and see if it works. If it doesn't work, you fix it.
City Hall is incapable of fixing past mistakes. Instead, we codify them, carve them in stone as things that "we do." They become part of the expansive system of patronage that drives this city.
Worse, we continue to experiment on the poor, creating new programs and entitlements on top on existing ones. So now we have a whole set of poorly funded, poorly designed social programs that have made precious little impact on homelessness, obesity, poverty, etc. Way to go, Philly.— KurtMagroo - Comment removed.
The city needs to look inward as to why it has turned into the "progressive" utopian society...failure. Stop looking outward for blame...that is so Obama'ish. Taxpayers provide PLENTY of cash for safety nets, the problem is that entitlement minded left wing loonies have turned them into hammocks. Hope & change, hope & change, forward...put the blame where it belongs...with those who continue to steal from the pot which is supposed to be dedicated to those who truly NEED help.— kelprod2- But we're first in murders for a city our size! Yippee!!— Commentdant_Klink
- I hate living here! I hate that I was born here! Dear God get me out of this hell hole!— mcaraffa
- Then move. It's not hard. Pick a place, get a bus ticket, and go. — jerkoftheworld
- What's the matter? You don't have the skills or education to relocate with a new job? Oh and by the way, when you buy a new house in the place you are going don't be surprised if your Property Taxes are triple what they are for the saem priced house in Philly. You are welfare and you just don't know it.(Just like rural PA who pay in less money to the state tax coffers then they receive in highway, bridge and infrastructure money from the state) — UncleStosh
- Add a couple more events like Wing Bowl - healthy eating at its finest!— He Visto Todo
- Good paying jobs to go to in the morning would go a long way to infuse healthy living. Alas, the Romney/GOP/Corporate philosophy is to employ only white collar, private sector, paper-pushing service industries or overseas workers. As Steven Colbert once said, "Suck-it to the people who educate your children." Perhaps because many of the business elite educate their children privately, the regression of public schools with charter trickery in lieu of sound public policy reforms is a small matter. Fix the poverty with jobs and you fix the schools.— Yodude2
- Pretty soon we'll ban potato chips, doritos, cookies, etc etc... just like NY did with the soda..... Sure, penalize the people that are thin and exercise!!— elfman
- Please post a picture of yourself. It's highly doubtful that you eat doritos and drink soda and are healthy. That stuff is poisen even in moderation, not that I agree with them being banned.(But it is ridiculous to offer them in schools) Chances are you are one of the unhealthy people. — UncleStosh
- Philadelphia dead last in health...honestly, who expects healthy dead people?— 2ndNlong
- Haven't we learned yet, that ADEQUATE PREVENTIVE health care is only accessible and affordable to the rich? I'm a college educated professional with 20 years of experience and I haven't been able to afford or get access to health care in 12 years. I resort to the Philadelphia City clinics for health care when things get bad. Aint America great? This isn't a Philadelphia problem, THIS IS AN AMERICAN PROBLEM.— cemego
- What the hell are you doing wrong? — KurtMagroo
For Inquirer.com. Portions of this blog may also be found in the Inquirer's Sunday Health Section
