County Health Assessment Results Released

Results of a 1999 health assessment for Kosciusko County were presented by Health Quest consultant Linde Howell at the Kosciusko County Health and Wellness Center Thursday.

The survey was given to 10,000 people throughout Kosciusko County.

Howell is the founder and president of Health Quest, an organization in Denver, Colo., designed to improve the community and its health care.

LifeQuest coordinator Stephanie Noffsinger introduced Howell to representatives of different health and wellness organizations of Kosciusko County to give updates on projects those organizations have launched.

LifeQuest Kosciusko County's program is designed to improve the community and its health care.

Howell began the presentation with the LifeQuest vision: "Kosciusko County is a caring, healthy, thriving community where people reach their highest quality of life." She said Kosciusko County joins a brotherhood of 500 communities working to create better health care.

First she discussed the dimensions of health, which include: physical, emotional, social, educational, cultural, environmental, spiritual, occupational, economical and aesthetic. Howell explained aesthetic is meant by music, art and general beauty.

Next, Howell discussed the highlights of the survey results, starting with health insurance. She said 11 percent of people in the county have no health insurance. That is almost 8,000 residents, largely between the ages of 18 and 24.

"The most significant number of kids who don't have insurance are 18 years old," said Howell.

She also said there is a larger number of residents per physician in Kosciusko County than in surrounding counties.

The survey also said only 41 percent of residents have dental insurance.

"That's a very, very low number," said Howell. "It's telling us that most employers don't provide dental insurance. It's a real significant problem in communities that is often overlooked because people just don't care about it."

The biggest reasons for not seeing a doctor are expense and hours of service, according to the survey. Twenty percent use the emergency room for non-emergency care compared to 24 percent nationally. There also is a 90 percent hospital return in the county.

Howell then moved on to the economy. "The economy is very robust," she said. "Unemployment rates are going down, down, down."

As of 1998, Kosciusko County's unemployment rate was 2.2 percent, compared to the state at 2.8 and the U.S. at 4.6.

Families are a big issue in the county, according to the survey.

"In this community," said Howell, "child care is a very big issue."

There are 31 licensed facilities that can accommodate 537 children.

Housing also is a big issue, especially single family - multi-family needs.

"The most significant need is a short-term family shelter," said Howell. "The biggest barrier is children in shelters."

Physical health was the next topic. According to the survey, 51 percent of county residents view their health as very good. Howell said the health status is very low.

"It was single digits of people who eat the adequate requirement of fruits and vegetables," she said. "Cholesterol rates are very high."

Almost 5 percent are in high-risk behavior, such as tobacco use, above-average alcohol use, failure to exercise, sleeping pills and drugs.

"The drug of choice in this community is alcohol," said Howell. "Kosciusko County is the poster child for what is happening nationally - more and more young people are smoking."

More than 30 percent of all high school students smoke, according to the survey.

Howell said the county health status can use a lot of work.

Noffsinger gave updates on projects by Combined Community Services, Medication Assistance, Cultural Harmony, Child Care, Youth Services Bureau, family literacy groups and Warsaw Housing Authority. These organizations work with LifeQuest to improve the community and its quality of life.