How Healthy Is Tampa Bay? And Why Should You Care?

[BLOG] By Dalia Colón -

When you’re choosing a city to live in, what factors do you consider? I’m guessing job opportunities are a consideration.

When businesses are deciding where to set up shop, they have criteria, too. And toward the top of that list is a city’s health. So says One Bay Healthy Communities, an outreach of the economic development group Tampa Bay Partnership (TBP).

Tampa's Gasparilla Distance Classic is a "step" in the right direction. Photo by Gordon Tarpley at Flickr Creative Commons.

Businesses “want to make sure that not only are their employees healthy and productive, but they have the opportunities within the community to be able to support those healthy practices,” said TBP rep Betty Carlin.

The theory is this: A healthier workforce means lower insurance costs for companies. Lower costs mean companies are more likely to come to town. More companies in town mean more job opportunities for you. See paragraph 1.

So how healthy is Tampa Bay?

This week, One Bay released a report on the eight-county region to answer that question.

On the plus side, the area’s death rates for stroke, pneumonia and the flu are below state and national averages. Now the bad news: The death rates for lung cancer, car crashes and suicide are higher than average.

Said Lynda Leedy, who co-wrote the report, “We’re not Portland, but we’re not Tuscaloosa, either.”

This reporter can be reached at daliacolon@wusf.org.