Our speaker was Christy Richards, Health Educator for Ontario County Public Health. 

She shared with us health data compiled for the Ontario County Health Profile.  Highlights included:

• 108,975 residents currently reside in Ontario County
  • 91% are white, non-hispanic
  • 2% are black non-hispanic
  • 4% are Hispanic
  • 3% declared as “other”
  • 8% of households speak a language other than English
  • 11.8% of our population is living with a disability.
  • Unemployment rate is 3.8% – Income and SES are very important indicators of over-all health and life expectancy.
• 12,000 Ontario County residents live below the poverty level.
• Health Behaviors
  • Smoking
  • Binge drinking
  • Overweight
  • Uncontrolled hypertension
• Education is a predictor of life expectancy
• Health behavior is an important determinant of health
• Life expectancy is 78.1 years (depending on zip code!)
• Leading cause of death in Ontario County
  • Heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke, and injury.
• Improving indicators:
  • Childhood immunizations, childhood obesity, adult obesity, smoking, HS graduation, preventable hospital stays.