Hot Springs County on list of unhealthy locations

Hot Springs County is on a list we never would want to be on, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institutes’ report on the health of each county in Wyoming.

Of the 23 counties in the state, Hot Springs County comes in the 21st least healthy county.

The data used to come to this conclusion included everything from excessive drinking and adult obesity to mammography screening, high school graduation rates and the ratio of mental health providers to the general population.

Janna West Kowalski, one of the researchers whose job it is to help people understand the findings in the report said it illustrates that where we live influences how long and how we live.

Housing was part of the data used and the researchers found 10 percent of households statewide spend more than half their income on housing costs. This leaves very little for healthcare much less any kind of healthy lifestyle.

Teton County ranked first as the healthiest county in the state, even though their housing costs are closer to the 16 percent mark.

Fremont County is at the bottom of the 23-county list with sexually transmitted infections, teen births, alcohol impaired driving deaths, percentage of unemployed and uninsured all adding to their low ranking.

Hot Springs County has the resources available to move up the list with Public Health, Red Rock Family Practice, Gottsche Wellness, Home Health, mental health counseling and Hot Springs County Memorial Hospital.

Medicaid is available for qualifying persons and families throughout Wyoming that will pay for certain medical services. The Wyoming Department of Health has a large database of free or reduced cost services as well.