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Mercer County leads Ohio in the rate of early deaths from heart disease.
COLDWATER - Mercer County has the highest rate of early deaths from heart disease among working-age people in Ohio, a trend local public health officials aim to reverse through the next Community Health Improvement Plan.
While putting together the 2024 Community Health Needs Assessment, health officials were alerted to a Feb. 23 news release from the Health Policy Institute of Ohio stating that Mercer County leads the state in early deaths from heart disease among residents aged 15-64.
Mercer County's rate is 272.5 deaths per 100,000 population, more than twice that of Noble County, which experienced 132.6 deaths per 100,000, according to the release.
"We're proud of our No. 1 status in a lot of things, but that's not one of them," said Mindy Kremer, vice president of development, marketing and communications for Mercer Health, at last week's hospital board of governors meeting.
Looking to tamp down that disquieting figure, health officials have made it their top priority to increase overall health and improve rates of chronic disease, specifically heart disease, in the 2025 CHIP to be released early next year.
Kremer said to accomplish that task, residents need to address factors leading to heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, alcohol and tobacco use, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity.
"For example, under the decrease obesity rate, explore increased access to weight management services is one idea," she said. "Education to increase healthy food behaviors through digital communications is another."
Kremer said seeing the same health diagnoses crop up every few years can be disheartening at times. However, she finds some comfort in Mercer County Health District Board of Health member Diane Lefeld's assessment that change comes about incrementally when dealing with deeply ingrained behaviors.
"These are cultural norms that have been happening for decades that we're trying to break down," Kremer said. "We're not going to change those things over night."
Mercer Health is a member of Community Organizations Linking Together (COLT) Health, a group of volunteers and employees of community organizations and agencies committed to improving the health of the people of Mercer County.
With support from Mercer County Health District and Mercer Health, the members of COLT Health act as the steering committee for the group's mission, Live Well Mercer County.
COLT Health carries out a needs assessment and improvement plan.
A CHNA is an examination of the health status of a community used to identify areas of concern. It's used to develop a Community Health Improvement Plan, or CHIP, consisting of benchmarks and goals focused on improving the overall health status of the community.
Mercer County's last CHIP plan was for years 2022-2024. The 2025-2027 CHIP is being drafted and is expected to be released early next year.
A CHNA survey was administered via the online platform SurveyMonkey.
"We also had a Marshallese version and a Spanish version for those populations in our community," Kremer said. "We also did focus groups with those two groups as well as the Amish community."
Local physicians and nurses offered feedback, too, and additional information and data was gleaned from Foundations Behavioral Health Services in Celina and the Ohio Hospital Association, according to Kremer.
Mercer County has an adult population of roughly 31,000 people. Five hundred surveys were turned in, resulting in a 1.5% return rate, Kremer pointed out.
"You may say that's horrible, but the benchmarks for these types of assessments is somewhere between 5-10%," Kremer said. "So are we happy with ours? No. We know we have work to do in the future, but it's gotten better every time we've done this."
The 2024 CHNA revealed 77% of respondents do not eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, a 1% improvement from the 2019 CHNA. Also, 50% indicated they eat fast food more than once a week, a 3% decline; 51% do not exercise at least three times a week, a 1% decline; 37% do not receive any annual wellness exam, a 5% improvement; and 43% do not receive recommended health screenings, a 13% improvement.
Moreover, 48% reported drinking alcohol at least weekly, a 19% improvement; 13% reported tobacco use, a 41% improvement; and 10% reported illegal drug use, a 14% increase. The assessment notes, though, that adult cannabis use became legal in Ohio in November 2023.
The top 10 most common diagnoses of hospitalized patients were, in first place, morbid obesity, followed by hypertension, COVID, type 2 diabetes, acute respiratory infection, hypothyroidism, hyperlipidemia/high cholesterol, obesity, urinary tract infection and atrial fibrillation.
The top 10 most common mental health diagnoses among residents seeking treatment were, in first place, depressive disorder, followed by anxiety disorder, adjustment disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, alcohol disorder, cannabis disorder, stimulant disorder, opioid disorder and schizophrenia.
Health officials are now putting the finishing touches on the 2025-2027 CHIP.
"We have a strategic planning meeting on Jan. 13," Kremer said. "We really hammer through and create an in-depth plan: this is what we're going to do … this is who is responsible."
The 2022-2024 CHIP identified and prioritized mental and behavioral health, followed by healthy weight status, substance use and abuse and health care literacy and navigation.
A work plan expanded upon the health care priorities, including the No. 1 concern, mental and behavioral health.
"Like other rural counties, Mercer County has a per capita shortage of psychiatric care providers. Acute psychiatric care is located outside the county," the plan states. "While there is still some stigma associated with seeking help with mental health problems in our community, there has been an increase in demand for mental health services. We will continue working to address stigma and access problems during the course of this CHIP."
To learn more about Live Well Mercer County, the CHNA and the CHIP, visit www.livewellmercercounty.org.
