The Troup County Board of Health is involved in the effort to gain Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) accreditation status for District 4 of the state Department of Public Health (DPH) of which it is a part, according to a press release.

Currently Cobb and Douglas Public Health (Marietta), DeKalb County Board of Health (Decatur), Gwinnett, Newton and Roackdale County health departments ( Lawrenceville) and North Central Health District 5-2 (Macon) are accredited.

The official application for accreditation will be made at the end of the summer, according to the press release. In preparation, collaborative meetings have been held and three priority concerns for the district and the county have been formulated, tuning up some alarming statistics in the process. The priorities are poverty, access to care and obesity.

According to the press release, Troup is ranked 75th among 159 counties in Georgia in overall health. The county population is 70,0005 of which 21.4 percent live below the federal poverty line compared to 18.4 percent statewide.

Of local children, 31.1 percent are below the poverty line compared to 23 percent statewide. That ties in with the county’s median household income, which is $43,000 compared to $53,000 statewide.

Access to care is an issue as well, according to the press release. In Troup County, there are 1,940 patients to primary care provider compared to 1,520 to one in Georgia. There are 1,080 patients per every mental health provider compared to 830 to one statewide.

Troup is right at state average for obesity with 30 percent of adults being considered obese.

Related causes of death in Troup verses statewide are: 

• Hypertension AADR (age adjusted death rate) 55.7 versus 31 statewide
• Diabetes AADR 35.5 versus 21.1 statewide
• Stroke AADR 38.5 versus 44.2 statewide
• Heart disease 306 versus 240.5 statewide
• Cancer 189.2 versus 159.8 statewide

The local Board of Health consists of Chairman W. T. Edmondson, Vice Chairwoman Dr. Erin Meeks,Lewis Davis, Dr. Shaundre Brown and Carrie Hightower.

Board meetings are open to the public and take place at 8 a.m. at the Troup County Health Department. Upcoming meeting dates are Sept. 17 and Nov. 19.