State of the County Health Report

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State of the County Health Report
www.franklincohealth.org
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About Franklin County
Franklin County is conveniently located 21 miles
northeast of the state capital, Raleigh, with
easy access to three interstate highways (I-40,
I-85, I-95). The county is comprised of 494
square miles and Louisburg is the county seat.
Other municipalities in the county include Bunn,
Franklinton, Centerville and Youngsville. We have
an estimated population of 57,222 in 2007,
gaining approximately 1,773 residents since 2006.
Map provided by Franklin County Graphic
Information Systems (GIS) Office
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The Year In Review

• In 2007, Franklin County Health Department
  provided 320 Maternal Health services, 74 Head
  Start dental screenings, served 1,826 children in
  the Child Health Clinic, an average of 600
  clients per month through WIC (Womens, Infants
  and Children) and 616 food inspections. In
  addition, our Dental Clinic provided 9,864 miles
  of free patient transportation in the 2007-2008
  Fiscal Year.
• Franklin County Volunteers In Medicine Clinic
  serves uninsured and underinsured residents of
  our county. In 2007, the facility served 330
  patients, with a combined total of 1,033 visits.
  The overall cost of medications disbursed was
  over 48,842.
• Franklin County Health Department, Board of
  Health, Animal Control, and the Animal Advisory
  Board initiated a
• certified Rabies Vaccination Program in an effort
  to decrease the instances of rabies and increase
  public education of the disease.

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Leading Causes of Death
According to the State Center for Health
Statistics, these disease and ailments represent
75.1 of the 333 deaths in Franklin County in
2006.
Endocrine Nutritional Diseases 6.1
Respiratory Ailments 7.9
Heart Circulatory Diseases 32.7
Cerebrovascular Disease 5.4
Cancer 23

• Diseases of the Circulatory System include
  heart attacks, congestive heart failure,
  atherosclerotic heart disease and hypertension.
• Diseases of the Respiratory System include
  influenza, pneumonia, emphysema, asthma and COPD.
• Cerebrovascular Diseases includes strokes.
• Endocrine and nutritional diseases includes
  diabetes.

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County Health Concerns

• Overweight and Obesity...
• Franklin County and surrounding counties
  rank 6 in the
• state for percentage of overweight
  and obese adults.
• Diet
• 22.2 of residents in Franklin County and
  surrounding counties reported eating the
  recommended five or
• more servings of fruits and
  vegetables per day.
• Physical Activity
• 44.6 of residents in Franklin County and
  surrounding
• counties reported meeting the daily physical
  activity
• recommendations that include, moderate
  exercise for 30
• or more minutes per day, five or more
  days per week or
• 20 or more minutes of vigorous
  activity on three or more
• days per week.

All data gathered from the 2007 Behavioral Risk
Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Franklin
County data is compiled with Nash and Wilson
counties.
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2007 Community Health Assessment Summary

• 51 of the Franklin County residents rated
  adult obesity as a major problem.
• 48 percent of respondents rated childhood
  obesity as a major problem.
• 59 percent of residents stated that lack of
  transportation was a major barrier to health
  services.
• 53 of respondents sited health insurance
  coverage as the top county concern relative to
  health and human services.
• 23 of the Franklin County residents ranked
  child asthma as a major problem in the county.

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Health Priorities
Based on findings in the 2007 Franklin County
Community Health Assessment and 2007 health data
collected for this report, the following
health priorities has been set for health
promotion activities.

• Overweight Obesity
• Physical Activity
• Nutrition

• Chronic Diseases
• Diabetes
• Cancer
• Arthritis

• Youth Health
• Physical Activity
• Nutrition
• Asthma

• Access to Care
• Underinsured,
• Uninsured
• Indigent Populations

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Progress Made in the Last Year

• Frankly Healthy, the Franklin County Healthy
  Carolinians Chapter, is currently publishing Ray
  of Hope newsletters that are distributed to over
  2000 people at a variety of locations,
  organizations, and agencies throughout the county
  including schools, businesses, and churches. It
  was designed to reach all church members aged 18
  and older who want to learn more about making
  positive and healthy lifestyle choices.
• The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
  awarded the Franklin County Health Department a
  grant for a program entitled A Ray of Hope for
  Franklin County. This initiative provided
  training to volunteers, workshops and in-services
  to educate women about breast health, in both
  churches and worksites.
• Franklin County Volunteers In Medicine Clinic
  collaborated with Rex Mobile Mammography Unit in
  providing mammograms to county residents. The
  Units mission is to take high-quality
  mammography services to areas where women have
  difficulty accessing healthcare.

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Progress Made in the Last Year

• The Restaurant Heart Health Survey (RHHS) is a
  statewide
• face-to-face survey used by local health
  departments and the NC Division of Public Health
  to assess the smoking and dining policies and
  practices of individual restaurants in each
  county. Franklin County obtained 51completed
  surveys, which resulted in one establishment
  becoming smoke free and another agreeing to a ban
  on Sundays.
• Frankly Healthy received funding from the
  Project DIRECT Academy in 2006, to implement a
  diabetes education program in Louisburg. This
  program entitled the Main Street Diabetes
  Program (MSDP) involves African American
  churches on and near Main Street in Louisburg,
  which includes walking and nutrition components.
  The goals of the MSDP are to raise awareness of
  the seriousness of diabetes, educate people about
  the specifics of diabetes, increase physical
  activity, and improve overall diet. This
  initiative remains ongoing.
• Louisburg Senior Center, Volunteers In
  Medicine Clinic and Franklin County Health
  Department partnered to facilitate a Diabetes
  Expo for our residents. The event was used to
  increase the awareness of diabetes prevention and
  management, physical activity and nutrition.

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The Plan

• Overweight and Obesity
• Working On Wellness (W.O.W.) is a
  comprehensive
• exercise and nutrition program available to
  Franklin County
• employees. Various wellness initiatives are
  offered
• throughout the year designed to help discover,
  educate, and
• create awareness pertaining to health risks and
  behaviors.
• Franklin County Cooperative Extension is
  offering Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less, a 12
  week weight management program that uses a
  variety of strategies to help people achieve and
  maintain a healthy weight. The agency will also
  provide nutrition education to all 3rd grade
  students at Edward Best and Laurel Mill
  Elementary Schools beginning January 2009.
  Students will have 45 minute, weekly lessons on
  various topics such as portion sizes, increasing
  fruit and vegetable consumption, reading
  nutrition labels and becoming more physically
  active.
• Franklin County Public School System
  continues to implement their annual 2nd Grade
  Nutrition Fair to build the knowledge of youth as
  it pertains to healthy nutrition and physical
  activity behaviors. In addition, the organization
  has been working diligently to establish a
  Employee Wellness Program to encourage healthy
  lifestyles among staff, enabling them to act as
  role models for the children they serve.

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The Plan
Chronic Disease Walk With Ease is a exercise
program developed to address the benefits of
increased physical activity, increased walking
distance and speed, decreased pain and decreased
depression among individuals inflicted with
arthritis. Franklin County Health Department in
collaboration with Louisburg and Franklinton
Senior Centers have implemented this initiative
for citizens of the county.

• The Walk With Ease program
• Helps you develop a beneficial walking
• plan that meets your needs.
• Helps you adhere to motivation and
• manage pain.
• Teaches you to exercise safely.

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The Plan
Youth Health Franklin County Health
Department in conjunction with Community Care
Network and various county agencies, have formed
a coalition which has developed a comprehensive
Youth Asthma program designed to educate parents
and kids about the illness. The goals of the
program are to decrease the amount of hospital
discharges with a primary diagnosis of asthma
rates among youth in Franklin County, and
increase the underserved population's knowledge
as to how this disease relates to self management
and environmental factors. This will be
accomplished by providing participants with the
necessary educational and self-management
resources.
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The Plan
Access to Care The percent of NC residents
that lack health insurance for a full year has
risen from 15.3 percent in 2000 to 18.1 percent
in 2005. During that same year, 11.6 percent of
youth ages 0 to 17 in Franklin County were
estimated to be uninsured. Those ages 18 to 64
that were uninsured, comprised 20.6 of the
population. As such, many community organizations
have formed the Franklin County Healthcare
Collaborative to address access to care. These
agencies include Franklin County Health
Department, Franklin County Volunteers In
Medicine Clinic, Franklin County Department of
Social Services, Franklin Regional Medical
Center, Franklin Community Health Center (Wake
Health Services), Community Care Partners of
Northern Piedmont, and Franklin Granville Vance
Partnership for Children.
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New Emerging Issues

• In October 2007 after seven years of
  operation, Flextronics ceased its Franklin County
  plant production, leaving 750 residents
  unemployed and resulted in the termination of
  their health care coverage. Governor Easley
  appointed a team to help employees of the layoff.
  A current primary focus for our county
  government is to replace the private employer,
  which had been the largest in county.
• Novozymes is a Denmark based company which
  manufactures enzymes used to produce
  alternative fuels. They have approved an 26
  million expansion that will add 50 additional
  employment positions in their Franklin County
  site.
• Franklin Regional Medical Center (FRMC) is an
  eighty-five bed facility located in Louisburg,
  built in 1956. FRMC has proposed a new 90
  million medical center in Youngsville that will
  cover 200,000 square feet, and 70 private
  hospital rooms.

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Frankly Healthy

• Our Healthy Carolinians Partnership, Frankly
  Healthy, is a partnership between community
  organizations and individuals. The
  mission of our collaborative is to improve health
  status and prevent premature death and injury for
  residents of the county regardless of age, race,
  income or educational level through a
  collaborative community effort.
• Partners Include
• Franklin County Health Department
• Franklin County Public Schools
• Franklin County Cooperative Extension
• Adolescent Parenting Program
• Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine Clinic
• Louisburg Senior Center
• South Main Street Baptist Church
• Franklin Regional Medical Center
• Franklin County Parks and Recreation
• Safe Space, Inc.

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State of the County Health Report The purpose of
this report is to communicate current Franklin
County health information. Documents will be
disseminated to the Public Library, Chambers of
Commerce, County Commissioners, Board of Health,
Franklin Regional Medical Center, Louisburg
College, Franklin County Public Schools and other
community venues. The Frankly Healthy partnership
produces this report each year for three years,
and a Community Health Assessment (CHA) in the
fourth year. The next SOTCH will be completed in
December 2009. For copies or for more
information, contact Franklin County Health
Department at [phone] Or download at
www.franklincohealth.org This State of the
County Health Report is a brief of the tremendous
amount of work being done and to be done in
Franklin County. As with most communities,
Franklin County faces significant healthcare
challenges, challenges that must be addressed by
the entire community not just one organization or
entity. Together we can continue building
community partnerships and relationships that
will enhance the health of all of our citizens. 
I invite you to join us in this endeavor and
share in the "wealth that is health." 
A Note from the Health Director