Good health and access to health care ensure a high-quality of life. Not everyone can be a marathon runner or mountain climber. Genes, finances, environment and behavior all influence how a person feels and performs at home, school, work or in the community. With an affinity for outdoor and active living, residents of the Black Hills generally enjoy longer life spans and better health than many other regions of the country.
County Health Rankings 2010-2012
Each year, health rankings for every county in the United States are published by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin's Population Health Institute. These rankings are based on such criteria as rate of premature death, percent affected with mental health problems and a varitey of other conditions. There are also social and economic factors that contribute to the county's health ranking. Each factor is compared to the state and national averages and includes data such as obesity, alcohalism, smoking, living conditions, insurance status, and other contributing problems. The interactive graph created by Sean Seefeldt shows how the seven counties represented on this site rank in accordance to all of these factors. As shown throught the three year progression some counties have improved their rankings, while others have regressed.
Monthly Health and Disease Summary
The South Dakota Department of Health issues a monthly report on diseases ranging from incidents of salmonella and E.coli to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) like gonorrhea. The report also tracks new incidents of rabies and West Nile as well as tuberculosis. Graphs break the state into eight regions organized by zip code groups, including one group for "577" zip code areas that includes most of the Black Hills region. Highlights from the April 2012 include:
Focus Area: Mental Health
Substance abuse, stress, anxiety, depression and suicide were all top 10 issues that emerged from a Black Hills Community Needs Assessment completed in January, 2007.
As a result, the John T. Vucurevich Foundation convened 36 different agencies to meet and develop a collaborative systematic plan to address the region’s mental health needs. The collaboration led to the creation of a 24-Hour Crisis Care Center in Rapid City that began taking patients on January 31, 2011. For more on the goals and programs of the collaborative, read the Vucurevich Foundation’s February 2011 “Report to the Community.” Partial funding for the center was provided by Rapid City’s Vision 2012 program. The collaborative’s application for funding is here.
Focus Area: Concussions
New research suggests that concussions sustained in sports or accidents can have long-term effects. The Rapid City Concussion Project has aggregated news and information on this important topic for atheletes and parents. Inside Dakota Sports has also produced a series of articles on the subject. They also have information on a new law passed by the South Dakota Legislature to address the issue.
Focus Area: Life Expectancy
Life expectancies vary across western South Dakota and range from among the shortest in the United States in the southern counties of the Black Hills to the longest in the nation in the Central Hills. The Washington Post published an interactive map on June 15 that color codes for life expectancy in every county in the United States.
Focus Area: Extreme Heat Conditions
Extreme heat can cause a variety of medically dangerous conditions for adults and children. Information from the Centers for Disease Control is available to help deal with heat related conditions as well as prevention of those conditions.
Focus Area: Obesity
Obesity is on the rise in South Dakota. According to a recent study, the rate of increase in adult obesity in the state was the third fastest among all the states in the nation. The prevalence of obesity among children under the age of five is also higher than the national average. See "Obesity in South Dakota: An Expanding Epidemic."
Focus Area: HIV/AIDS
Approximately 197 cases of HIV/AIDS were reported in Black Hills counties between 1985 and 2010, accounting for three out of every ten cases in South Dakota. At the end of 2010, 644 South Dakota residents were reported to be infected with HIV. Three out of every four individuals with HIV were male. While 63 percent of those diagnosed with HIV or AIDS between 1985 and 2010 were white, one in six was American Indian. Two out of three people diagnosed were between the ages of 25 and 44 years old. For more information, see the South Dakota Department of Health's annual Surveillance Report on HIV/AIDS issued in January, 2011.
Focus Area: Breast Cancer
Between 2002 and 2006, an average of 531 new cases of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed per year among women in South Dakota. According to a report from the South Dakota Cancer Registry, approximately 100 South Dakota women will dies from breast cancer. According to a recent article in the Rapid City Journal, women living in western South Dakota tend to choose a mastectomy over a lumpectomy more often than women living closer to hospitals in the Sioux Falls area.
Focus Area: Cancer
County-by-county information on the incidence of various types of cancer is available from the National Cancer Institute. An interactive map allows the user to see rates for various types of cancer by race, age and gender.
The South Dakota Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan for 2011 - 2015 is a five year plan developed by the CDC (Center for Disease Control). It focuses on creating better treatment options for cancer patients as well as investigating new early detection strategies.
Focus Area: Food & Wellness
The Food Environment Atlas, developed by the Economic Research Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in cooperation with various federal agencies, provides an interactive map that provides county-level data on access to and patterns of consumption of food. This is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the relationship between the food environment and health in the Black Hills.
Focus Area: Physical Activity
Physical activity contributes to improved health in many ways. The U.S. Center for Disease Control provides an interactive map that highlights data on obesity, diabetes and physical inactivity for Black Hills counties and the rest of the United States.
Health care consumers can compare prices and find data on various providers on the South Dakota Hospital PricePoint System. Users can look up providers by county or city and then find average costs for a variety of health care services ranging from childbirth to heart conditions and transplants. The data covers hospital charges only and does not include physician bills, for example. Users can view information on the total number of discharges (patients), the average length of stay, the average charge, the median age of the patient and percentage of patients who were male or female. Charts also allow the user to compare the cost of local hospital charges to statewide averages.
South Dakota's three major healthcare systems received good grades from a hospital survey called Hospital Compare, a rating system managed by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Hospital Compare uses information submitted voluntarily to produce the ratings. The agency looks at mortality, readmission rates and patient satisfaction. See our health and healthcare page for more data on South Dakota and the Black Hills region. For more on health care generally, click here.
Health Insurance
The percentage of the population under 65 years old with health insurance varies by county in the Black Hills region and western South Dakota. Butte County has the highest rate of uninsured (18.1 percent). Meade County, with the highest rate of government employees, also has the lowest rate of uninsured (14.7 percent). The U.S. Census provides an interactive map of health insurance coverage by county across the United States.
Below please find information about many of the health care providers in our region.
Outdoor activities ranging from trail riding to snowboarding attract many people the Black Hills. An increasing emphasis on activities including running, cycling, hiking, swimming and walking plays an important role in maintaining healthy fitness levels in the community. Surveys indicate that roughly four out of five Black Hills residents participate in some leisure time physical activity. Still many people in the region are not active enough to maintain good health. For more information about fitness, check out the resources below:
A variety of institutions offer training and education in health care fields in the Black Hills. Degree programs are available in nursing, respiratory therapy, surgical tech, paramedicine, CRNA, nuclear medicine, ultrasound, and radiography. Continuing education is also available for physicians and most health care specialists. For a partial overview of these programs, see Regional Health's 2009 Community Report.
Sports and recreation opportunities abound in and around the Black Hills. According to a 2001 survey by the Outdoor Industry Association, nearly 69 percent of South Dakotans participate in outdoor recreational activities.
