Howard County Ranks No. 8 As 2021 Healthiest Community

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — U.S. News & World Report has ranked Howard County No. 8 in its 2021 Healthiest Communities rankings among nearly 3,000 counties. Howard County increased its ranking from 2018 at No. 20 and is the only Maryland jurisdiction to land within the top 50 rankings. Howard County also placed sixth among its peer group of urban, high-performing communities across the nation.

“We are constantly working to improve the health of our neighbors, family and friends here in Howard County,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said. “Since taking office, we’ve worked to ensure all our residents can be healthy and thriving – launching new technology to reduce health disparities, investing in health factors like access to healthy foods and creating a more walkable community."

Ball noted that the county improved across categories in the past three years .

"But perhaps most significantly, we’ve seen a marked increase in our health equity from 40.5 in 2018 to 55.4 in 2021. This recognition means a lot to our community of partners who have advocated and invested in public health and health equity for many years. This past year, as we confronted a deadly pandemic, we were reminded how important our health is - how we cannot take it for granted, and how foundational it is to our quality of life," he said.

Howard County’s population health score, the highest weighted category, increased from 65.6 in 2018 to 91.2 in 2021. Howard County officials highlighted health initiatives aimed at improving contributing factors to overall population health including food access and nutrition, environment and improving medical access.

“Moving forward, we must all double down on our work to make good health and well-being achievable for all,” Nikki Highsmith Vernick, The Horizon Foundation president and CEO, said. “The Horizon Foundation remains a committed partner in our collective work to make Howard County a place where everyone can live a longer, healthier and better life.”

“Improving the public health of everyone who lives in, works in or visits Howard County has remained the mission of the Howard County Health Department since our beginnings more than 85 years ago,” Dr. Maura Rossman, Howard County Health Officer, added.

Officials also highlighted Howard County’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its vaccination rates which are the highest in Maryland across demographics. To date, 65.1 percent of all residents are fully vaccinated and 76.9 percent of residents 12+ are fully vaccinated. The Howard County General Hospital also reported zero COVID-19 patients yesterday, for the first time since the pandemic began.

"For many years Howard County has made a healthy community a top priority, that dedication, drive, and emphasis on partnerships, those form the strong foundation that got us here today,” Dr. Elizabeth Kromm, Howard County General Hospital vice president of population health and advancement, said. "These are also the things that helped us deal effectively with the pandemic and made Howard County a leader in the COVID-19 response. We hit a milestone yesterday at the hospital. For the first time in over 480 days, since the pandemic began, we have zero COVID-19 patients in the hospital.”