Becker's Spine Review

60 HEALTHCARE NEWS US News names 36 places to first-ever community health honor roll By Kelly Gooch T he 2018 U.S. News Healthiest Com- munities Honor Roll recognized 36 communities ranging from Allegany County, N.Y., to Winneshiek County, Iowa. e honor roll is a component of U.S. News & World Report's inaugural healthiest communi- ties rankings, a project conducted in collabora- tion with Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna's char- itable foundation. e project scores nearly 3,000 counties on approximately 80 indicators across 10 categories: population health, equity, education, economy, housing, food and nutri- tion, environment, public safety, community vitality and infrastructure. Researchers then identified the top 500 healthiest communities. As part of the project, each county was placed into a peer group based on urban-rural sta- tus and economic performance, according to U.S. News & World Report. e groups are urban, high-performing rankings; urban, up- and-coming rankings; rural, high-performing rankings; and rural, up-and-coming rankings. e honor roll comprises the top-performing communities within each peer group in these specific geographic divisions: East North Cen- tral, East South Central, Middle Atlantic, Moun- tain, New England, Pacific, South Atlantic, West North Central and West South Central. e communities named to the honor roll "best serve their residents in the face of oen complex health-related challenges," accord- ing to U.S. News & World Report. Populations in honor roll communities range from 2,000 people to nearly 1 million. According to U.S. News & World Report, the honor roll commu- nities together have an average life expectan- cy of 81 years and health insurance coverage exceeding 90 percent. Here are the 36 honor roll communities. Allegany County, N.Y. Bennington County, Vt. Leelanau County, Mich. Big Stone County, Minn. Lexington, Va. Carson County, Texas Livingston County, N.Y. Carver County, Minn. Marshall County, Ky. Collin County, Texas Mono County, Calif. Dolores County, Colo. Montgomery County, Va. Door County, Wis. Morris County, N.J. Douglas County, Colo. Nantucket County, Mass. Dukes County, Mass. Orleans County, Vt. Essex County, N.Y. Pickett County, Tenn. Falls Church, Va. Real County, Texas Hamilton County, Ind. Routt County, Colo. Island County, Wash. San Mateo County, Calif. Jefferson County, Wash. Sibley County, Minn. Kerr County, Texas Washington County, Tenn. Keweenaw County, Mich. Williamson County, Tenn. King George County, Va. Winneshiek County, Iowa Latah County, Idaho n Uber launches 'Uber Health' to transport patients to physicians' offices By Alyssa Rege R ide-hailing service app Uber on March 1 announced its intent to team up with various healthcare organizations nationwide to provide trans portation for patients traveling to and from medical appointments, according to NPR. The service, Uber Health, aims to help patients make it to their medical ap- pointments on time. For patients without smartphones, receptionists or other staffers at participating physicians' offices can schedule their rides for immedi- ate pickup or dropoff up to 30 days in advance. "Transportation barriers are the greatest for vulnerable populations," said Chris Weber, general manager of Uber Health, adding the service "will provide reli- able, comfortable transportation for patients," but will not act as a supplement to ambulances for patients in critical need of care. Rather than operating through an app, Uber Health will send passengers their ride information via text message. Drivers, however, will still locate and pick up riders through the Uber app, allowing them to abide by the patient privacy laws outlined in HIPAA. Roughly 100 healthcare facilities nationwide participated in Uber Health's test program. The company said it plans to roll out the feature to participating facili- ties gradually. Officials also said they hope to introduce an option for passengers to receive a call with their trip details to their landline, according to the report. n

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