McHenry Co. healthy but drinks too much

McHenry County inhabitants are more active and not quite as fat as other Illinois residents but tend to binge-drink more, a recent survey found.

The survey conducted by Centegra Health System is part of the nationwide Healthy People 2010 program, designed to track health trends.

The survey examined 10 health indicators: physical activity, obesity, tobacco use, alcohol and drug abuse, responsible sexual behavior, mental health, injury and violence, environmental quality, immunization and access to health care.

McHenry County scores better than the state average in all categories except alcohol abuse, said Rowena Wermes, Centegra's director of planning.

Although the survey shows 19.4 percent of Illinois residents age 18 and older have been binge drinkers, consuming four to five drinks within a short period of time, the rate is 22.4 percent in McHenry County. This statistic, Wermes said, is "surprising."

"You do tend to associate binge drinking with a college town. McHenry County doesn't have a big four-year college," she said.

Though 16.9 percent of people in McHenry County smoke, Wermes said it's a 7-percentage-point drop since 2003.

Under mental-health indicators, the suicide rate in McHenry County coincides with the state average: 8.1 per 100,000 people, compared with 8.4 across the state.

Other figures show that 11.3 percent of the residents don't have health insurance, while the state average is 15.2 percent.

"While our current indicators say we aren't at the Healthy People 2010 target (in seven of 10 benchmarks), we are making progress, and hopefully, we can see more," she said.

An innovative piece of equipment recently unveiled could help close the gap. A $300,000 van outfitted essentially as a mobile medical office could be used for everything from school physicals to health screenings. Centegra hopes to use the van beginning in the spring.

"McHenry County does have some transportation issues," Wermes said. "If people can't come to the clinics, let's bring what services they might need to them."