It has been pointed out that although the United States has the most expensive health care in the world, our health outcomes significantly lag other countries. For example, in the ranking of countries with the longest life expectancy, the United States ranks #31 while it ranks 55th in infant mortality.
Meanwhile, here, the economic impact of Baptist Memorial Health Care alone is $2.6 billion, it is $2 billion for University of Tennessee Health Science Center, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is more than $2 billion, the medical device industry is $2.6 billion, and so it goes.
And yet, health outcomes for Shelby County, when ranked with the 95 counties of Tennessee, falls toward the middle at #49 in 2018. It was the same in 2016 but a decline from #39 in 2015.
Nashville/Davidson County was ranked #13, Chattanooga/Hamilton County was ranked #22, and Knoxville/Knox County was ranked #8.
Key Health Rankings Among 95 Counties of Tennessee:
#36 – length of life
#71 – quality of life
#28 – health behaviors
#16 – clinical care
#88 – social and economic factors
#39 – physical environment
Data Points for Shelby County:
9,300 – premature deaths
22% – poor or fair health
11% – low birthweight
14% – frequent physical distress
14% – frequent mental distress
13% – diabetes prevalence
34% – adult obesity
30% – physical inactivity
90% – access to exercise opportunities
22% – food insecurity
9% – limited access to healthy foods
37% – insufficient sleep
50% – children in single parent households
22% – severe housing problems
30% – long commute, driving alone
17% – uninsured
Source: County Health Rankings and Roadmaps (A Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program)
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The health care economic impact in Shelby County (Memphis) is far smaller than it should be for a city and region with some of the worst health problems in the entire country. Memphis has always had some of the highest infant mortality rates anywhere. Diabetes and multiple diseases impacting our high poverty rates is off the charts in Memphis.
If only Memphis had a renowned academic medical center like Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Nashville is also the epicenter of America’s for profit health care industry as HCA is headquartered there.
If you look at the state map all of the counties surrounding Nashville-Davidson County are highly rated. Is this the spillover effect from all the hospitals in Metro Nashville?