The 2006 Colorado Health Report Card

Colorado Public Radio, June 9, 2006: Annie Wohlgenant, Vice President for Philanthropy at The Foundation, speaks with reporter Ryan Warner about the Colorado Health Report Card.

Unless you consider an overall "C+" an acceptable grade, the state of Colorado has some work to do to improve the health of its citizens. The Colorado Health Foundation's first Colorado Health Report Card, published in May 2006, shows Colorado earned a "C+" on the overall health of its people. We can do better — particularly with our children — to improve Coloradans' health. The health of Colorado's children received a disappointing "C," in comparison to the adults' score of a "B+."

The Colorado Health Report Card measures the health of Coloradans by identifying 10 pairs of important health indicators and determining a grade for each. The grades are based on Colorado's rank among the states, whether the indicator has improved or worsened over recent years, and how close Colorado comes to goals set by the federal government in its Healthy People 2010 health promotion and disease prevention initiative.

Stories

Center for African-American Health Clinica Tepeyac Colorado Consumer Health Initiative Colorado Covering Kids and Families Colorado Legal Services Community Health Services Denver Health School-based Clinics Kids in Need of Dentistry Parent Pathways

The Report Card is designed to start a conversation about how we can make the greatest positive change and to track progress toward that goal year over year. We can improve the health indicator scores that will have a major impact on the overall health of Coloradans. Using the Report Card as a guide, The Colorado Health Foundation is working with policymakers, advocacy groups, businesses, the medical community and individuals to make Colorado the healthiest state in the nation. Each year, we will issue an updated Colorado Health Report Card to measure our progress.

For more information, download The 2006 Colorado Health Report Card.