The 2008 Healthiest State Report Card, produced by the Washington Health Foundation, shows that Washington meets or exceeds the national average in 13 of the 17 health measures and outcomes used as benchmarks. Additionally, the Healthiest State Report Card features a person, program and policy who are making a difference in each measure.

Puget Sound Health Alliance Community Checkup Highlighted

The Alliance’s Community Checkup report is highlighted in the 2008 Healthiest State Report Card as a program that is making a positive difference in improving medical care quality.

“In 2008, the Puget Sound Health Alliance released its first Community Checkup report— for the first time providing the Puget Sound region with information on how the region is performing, community-wide, to ensure that patients receive certain aspects of health care that are recommended by national medical guidelines. The report, based on a vast draw of data reflecting the care provided to more than 1.6 million patients in King, Pierce, Snohomish, Kitsap and Thurston counties, identified opportunity for improvement in essentials such as cholesterol checks and other basic services.”

The Alliance is deeply committed to producing the Community Checkup report, which enables everyone in the community – physicians, hospitals, patients, employers, unions, insurers and others – to work together to improve health care quality and value. In our region and across the nation, the need to improve is critically important.

In the 2008 Healthiest State Report Card, Vermont is number one, followed by Connecticut, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.  Utah, Hawaii, Iowa, Wisconsin and Washington round out the Top 10.  For more information on the Healthiest State Campaign or to view the full report, please visit www.HealthiestState.org.