The bad news is that South Carolinians are still couch potatoes. The good news is that there isn’t an ashtray beside the sofa. America’s Health Rankings 2011, released at the end of last year by United Health Foundation in collaboration with the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention, shows positive health trends including a low prevalence of binge drinking and high immunization coverage along with challenges including high levels of obesity, low high school graduation rates, a high percentage of children in poverty, and a high prevalence of diabetes.
South Carolina is ranked 45th this year when compared with other states, down the list from 41st last year. What’s changed in the last 12 months? The percentage of children in poverty increased from 17.6 percent to 25.7 percent, and the number of uninsured people grew from 16.4 percent of the population to 18.7 percent. Over the last decade, the changes have been even more profound. Obesity affected only about a fifth of the population 10 years ago and now affects almost a third of adults or 1.1 million people in the state. Diabetes grew at an alarming rate, too, affecting 7.1 percent of adults ten years ago, and now affecting 10.7 percent of South Carolinians or 379,000 people. Some health measures have shown improvement over the past decade. Smoking has decreased from 24.9 percent to 21.0 percent of adults over the last ten years. Still, there are 744,000 adult smokers in the state.
Why should we be concerned about the challenges we face? These indicators, serious in and of themselves, bleed over into other areas. Obesity leads to a host of other health issues. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as weight increases, the risk of heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, stroke, liver disease, and several cancers also increases.
Likewise, low high school graduation rates may be bad for the state’s health picture. Dropping out of high school is considered a marker for poorer health, according to researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. The average high school dropout loses 5.1 years of perfect health. Poverty has a similar effect. The same study found that people with household earnings in the bottom third of the U.S. population lost 8.2 years of perfect health.
Diabetes can lead to a host of health issues. Increased rates of cholesterol, triglycerides, obesity and blood pressure increase the risk of heart disease or stroke, according to the CDC.
Established by UnitedHealth Group as a not-for-profit foundation that expands access to quality health care services, United Health Foundation works with others to compile the health rankings as a tool for understanding health trends that face the states individually and the nation as a whole. Dr. John Rennick, medical director for UnitedHealthcare of the Carolinas, says identifying the challenges can lead to innovative solutions.
UnitedHealthcare of the Carolinas, part of UnitedHealth Group, the largest health carrier in the United States, works to change the ranking numbers by identifying members who are at risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, heart failure, and cancer early on. By taking a look at the diagnostic tests and results, the company can communicate information to patients including next steps, screening options, and reminders about necessary appointments. Members can opt to receive information by mail, phone, or email. So instead of a member struggling to remember when the next mammogram should be scheduled, that information comes from UnitedHealthcare in an effort to encourage regular doctor visits and better health.
And while those services work to improve the outlook for UnitedHealthcare’s 1,292,000 members in North and South Carolina, other programs are aimed at the population at large. The HEROES program awards grants to programs that combat childhood obesity, tackling South Carolina’s poor health habits early in life.
The HEROES program supports KICK (the Kids Inspired by Cancer Kampaign) in Columbia, an initiative started five years ago by Anthony Frederick, whose mother, Druscilla Frederick, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Anthony, then eight years old, sold his toys and lemonade to raise funds for cancer research. Later, Anthony’s Dad was diagnosed with leukemia, and the focus of the organization broadened. Today, KICK has contributed more than $19,000 to research while working to help kids prevent chronic diseases by establishing healthy lifestyles through regular exercise and proper nutrition. HEROES funds have enabled KICK to purchase exercise equipment including jump ropes and Frisbees and to print fliers designed to draw more children to the group’s meetings.
In Orangeburg, HEROES is helping with Project D.O.L.T.E.R. (Dedicating Our Lives To Eating Right). The project provides children who are members of Orangeburg Area Boys & Girls Club with information and physical activities aimed at reducing and preventing obesity. Children are encouraged to maintain a healthy diet and to get the recommended level of physical activity for their age level. And though the target of the program is young people, the changes they make may impact their parents, families, and community.
Having the opportunity to change some of South Carolina’s poor rankings is important to Dr. Rennick, who worked for Kaiser Permanente and as a rural doctor in North Carolina before joining UnitedHealthcare. Still, some people wonder what kind of a difference an insurer can really make. “Other doctors have asked me why I’ve gone to work for an insurance provider,” he says. “Helping our members be able to afford quality healthcare and working with patients to access the services they need to live better lives is so important if we are going to swing the pendulum in the other direction. South Carolina is improving in some areas but has plenty of room for improvement in others. Initiatives like the HEROES program can make a difference in the numbers we see down the road.”