© 2024 Public Radio Tulsa
800 South Tucker Drive
Tulsa, OK 74104
(918) 631-2577

A listener-supported service of The University of Tulsa
classical 88.7 | public radio 89.5
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Tulsa up to 13th in Annual County Health Rankings

KWGS News file photo

Tulsa County continues to climb in annual health rankings.

Tulsa has improved from 27th in Oklahoma in 2011 to 13th in 2019 in the County Health Rankings from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

"Tulsa’s going in the wrong direction in terms of adult obesity: 30 percent adult obesity rate in Tulsa," said Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Communications Director Joe Marx. "Yet you’re doing well in areas like fewer people who are uninsured, more access to primary care physicians, dentists and other health providers."

Besides health outcomes, behaviors and access to care, the rankings take into account social and environmental factors like child poverty.

More than ever, the rankings ask county leaders to consider those social and economic factors, including severe housing burden, affect their residents’ health. Marks said 13 percent of Tulsa County residents spend half their paychecks or more on housing, setting them up to make some hard choices.

"You might not have enough money for important health care or to put healthy food on the table or getting your children to childcare and transportation issues. So, this is a concern," Marx said.

Nationally, 10 percent of people experience a severe housing burden. That issue spurred officials in Chelsea, Massachusetts, to pursue mixed-income neighborhoods.

"But they’re not stopping there. They’re looking at a living wage, … job training for these families. The local hospital is actually screening for housing insecurity, or families that might be spending too much of their income on housing," Marx said.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.