“Dutchess County remains one of the healthiest counties in New York State,” says Commissioner of Health, Michael C. Caldwell, MD, MPH, with the April 5th website release of the Dutchess County Community Health Status Report prepared by the Dutchess County Department of Health. 

The report provides a snapshot of Dutchess County health and well being indicators. Dutchess County ranked 11th among all New York State counties and 4th among the counties of the Hudson Valley region for overall health outcomes based on the 2010 National County Health Rankings.  The report shows that overall, Dutchess County residents have maintained if not improved their health.

“For example, the rate of low birth weights has remained constant, and premature birth rates are actually decreasing,” said Caldwell.  “The data that is tracked by the Department helps us identify areas in need of intervention as well as measure the impact of the public health initiatives to address these issues,“ he added.

The Department of Health has released their 2010 Community Health Status Report as part of National Public Health Week.  This report provides a profile of our county’s community health and pulls together selected health indicators within four categories: Access to Health Care, Birth Measures, Morbidity (illness), and Mortality (Death) Measures.   The report may be found on the Dutchess County website at www.dutchessny.gov by selecting the link to National Public Health Week.