WASHINGTON — Virginia lost ground in a national health report. The state ranked 19th in this year’s America’s Health Rankings report, down from 14th in 2022.
This is due in part to increasing chronic conditions among Virginians.
The state Department of Health finds this increase has been coming for some time. Between 2016 and 2021, obesity, diabetes and arthritis have steadily risen among Virginians.
Rhonda Randall, chief medical officer for UnitedHealthcare Employer and Individual, described why this increase is occurring.
“When we look at states, the states that have the highest rankings in behavior,” said Randall, “so, those are things like are we getting physical activity, are we smoking, things like obesity, for example – have a tendency to do better on the chronic conditions.”
But this increase in chronic conditions comes when there are fewer primary-care professionals in the workforce. This has been particularly hard on rural Virginia communities.
A Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform report finds nine hospitals are at risk of closing due to staff shortages.
Nationally, 107,000 primary care professionals left the workforce this year, due in part to burnout.
The state has made progress in other ways such as reducing air pollution, which brought down some respiratory illnesses.
Randall noted that with the new year on the horizon, people should consider any health-related habits they want to change.
“This is a good time of year for people to start thinking about what do you want to change in your lifestyle, right?” said Randall. “Is it a difference in the nutritious food? Is it a difference in your physical activity? Have you not been to the doctor for a while?”
She added that the new year would also be a good time for policymakers to examine what health-care legislation needs to be worked on. For Virginia, this means more public health funding.
