MARQUETTE -- The numbers are in and Marquette County ranks 12th out of 82-counties in Michigan in terms of health outcomes. The data encompasses a wide range of health factors including obesity levels, low birth weight, and the quality of care available. Although Marquette county is generally above the state average in nearly every category, it does trail the national average.
"The data is a good place to start, there are both strengths and limitations to the numbers that we have but it's a really good starting place for people to sit down, look at where we are, where some of our areas of concern are and what we need to do to address those areas of concern," said Dr. Terry Frankovich, Medical Director, Marquette County Health Department.
One area seeing an increase is the number of smokers during the past three years. 21-percent of Marquette county adults are currently smokers. The county lost funding for an anti-smoking campaign in 2004 and that's when the number of smokers started rising. For a complete breakdown of Marquette's rank in each category, click here.
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