For Immediate Release Contact:  Darlene Schlicher (615) 741-6336

     (NASHVILLE, TN), January 28, 2010 – At the request of Chairman Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City), the Senate General Welfare, Health and Human Resources Committee heard from Jeff Ockerman with Tennessee’s Division of Health Planning regarding strategies for improving health in the state.  Ockerman is charged with implementing an act passed by the General Assembly to develop a state health plan that will serve as a guide to improve the overall health care of Tennesseans.
 

     “I asked Jeff Ockerman to appear before the committee so that we may better understand those areas needing improvement,” said Senator Crowe.  “This helps us develop strategies and provide solutions in those areas.”
 

     Tennessee has been called one of the least healthy states in America, ranking 47th in the nation.  In addition, the state’s health system performance has ranked below average as well at 39th in the nation.  According to Ockerman, once the plan is in place it will provide a vision for moving Tennessee’s current health care system to an integrated system of care, which is more efficient and effective.  It will also focus on the need for health promotion, health education, disease prevention, better nutrition, and chronic disease management.
 

     Ockerman said Tennessee has been successful in the state’s childhood immunization effort with 83.1 percent of children being immunized.  The national average is 80.1 percent.   The remainder of the indicators on the health status of Tennesseans, however, is grim.  Tennessee is the worst in the nation in infant mortality, with an 8.8 per 1000 birth death rate.  The national average for infant mortality is 6.6 per 1,000 births.  Adult diabetes is a major concern since the state is above the national 8 percent average, with 10.4 percent of Tennesseans having the disease.  In following, adult obesity is 31.2 percent in Tennessee, well above the 26.7 percent average.  Likewise, one of the most concerning indicators is childhood obesity.  Tennessee children are well above the 28.8 percent national average, with 35 percent overweight.
 

     “I thank the governor and Mr. Ockerman for their work on this project,” added Crowe.    “I have asked him to return at a later date when he has made progress on the plan to identify further how we might focus on these problem areas and improve our state health rankings.”
 

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