SAN ANTONIO – New health rankings were released and Bexar County is making progress in some crucial areas.
The rankings are the work of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute.
The organizations look at the health of nearly every county in the U.S. Bexar County came in at 78 out of 243 counties measured.
The results of the study, which ended in August 2016, shows what’s working and what’s not.
There was an estimated 6,900 people who died too early in Bexar County. That’s more than the state average of 6,700 and far greater than the top U.S. counties, which showed only 5,200 premature deaths.
In terms of indicators that may contribute to premature deaths, San Antonio is doing better in the number of uninsured drivers, preventable hospital stays, diabetes monitoring and the number of those driving while impaired by alcohol.
The study reveals the county is not making any strides in the number of children living in poverty, obesity, physical activity or unemployment. Those factors continue to trend about the same from 2015 into 2016.
Among the good news in the number of rankings — the number of high school grads is increasing, and violent crimes and the amount of air pollution in Bexar County are trending downward.
Surrounding counties, such as Comal, Bandera and Wilson counties, showed much higher rankings. The top was Kendall County at No. 10 in Texas.