Over the past month, the state of Surry County’s health report for 2009 has been distributed to several local leaders and health care professionals. It provides a snapshot of health issues in the county and projects now under way.

Rebecca Thompson, health educator and Healthy Carolinians coordinator for the Surry County Health and Nutrition Center, presented the report to the county commissioners a few weeks ago and last week to those gathered at the Healthy Surry Partnership luncheon.

The report supplements the 2006 Surry County Community Health Assessment which identified four primary health concerns for the county: childhood obesity, heart disease, diabetes and aging issues.

According to the report, total population for the county is 73,065. This number has gradually increased since 2006. The median age is 40.5 years.

A primary concern in the county is childhood obesity. According to Thompson, 45 percent of middle school students here are overweight. Body Mass Index collections are now being gathered from various schools in the county. Thompson said this will help the county know how to better tackle the problem.

Another concern is diabetes. In 2009 the health center applied for and received a three-year Diabetes Today grant to promote prevention and self-management for the uninsured and under-insured. Surry County will be the lead agency, but it will partner with Davie, Stokes, Wilkes and Yadkin counties to provide services.

“I would especially like to highlight the Diabetes Self-Management Education Program,” said Thompson.

This is a program approved by the American Diabetes Association. The program includes an initial individual assessment for participants and a three-part group education class. The classes address topics such as the disease process, medications, blood sugar monitoring, nutrition, exercise, stress management, and long-term complications.

In 2009, the county held 18 Diabetes Education Program classes, reaching more than 113 people. Free community education was also provided to more than 487 people.

Thompson also talked about alcohol abuse issues in her report. She provided statistics from 2003 to 2007. During that period there were 545 crashes that involved alcohol. This comprised 6.4 percent of the total crashes in the county. This number was 1.3 percent higher than the statewide percentage of crashes involving alcohol. Thompson said Project: Connect the Dots has helped try to reduce those numbers in the county.

Tobacco use continues to be a serious problem in the county, Thompson said. According to state statistics, 30.3 percent of adults in the county smoke cigarettes. The percentage of women who smoke while pregnant is 22.5 percent. Statistics also show that 57.6 percent of high school students and 32.9 percent of middle school students in the region have tried tobacco.

With the new smoke-free restaurant law, Thompson hopes these numbers will go down. The health center held special “Tasty Tuesdays” events in January to promote the smoking ban. Work is also being done in the schools to prevent smoking. The report showed that all high schools in the county school systems have Tobacco Reality Unfiltered youth groups to promote tobacco prevention.

During her presentations, Thompson also addressed emerging health issues in the county. The main emerging issue in 2009 was the H1N1 influenza pandemic. Thompson reported that more than 5,000 county residents have received the H1N1 vaccine, and the health center expects those numbers to grow.

Some upcoming projects health center employees are excited about are the Ararat River Greenway Trail in progress and the Surry Scenic Bikeway. Maps for this bikeway will be available in the spring.

County officials were pleased with the information collected by the health department and the projects that are now underway.

Commissioner Jimmy Miller said, “You guys have done a very good job.”

Contact Meghann Evans at mevans@mtairynews.com or 719-1952.