Community Corner

Pasco's Top Killers: Cancer, Heart Disease

A new report released by the Florida Department of Health lists the county's top killers and the overall state of resident health.

Land O’ Lakes residents are more likely to die from cancer than succumb to the grips of pneumonia or AIDS.

That’s according to the Florida Department of Health, which just released a report on Pasco County’s health. The report provides a look at the overall health of Pasco County residents while detailing the top killers between 2009 and 2011.

During that three-year period there were about 744 deaths in Pasco County. Here are the top 9 killers and their 3-year age-adjusted death rates for Pasco, according to the Florida Office of Vital Statistics:

Find out what's happening in Land O' Lakeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • Cancer – 171.6 deaths
  • Heart disease – 159.6 deaths
  • Chronic lower respiratory disease – 51 deaths
  • Stroke, 29.7 deaths
  • Diabetes – 24.9 deaths
  • Motor vehicle crashes – 15.6 deaths
  • Cirrhosis – 13.3 deaths
  • Pneumonia/influenza – 5.6 deaths
  • AIDS/HIV – 2.9 deaths

So, how healthy is Pasco?

It depends, according to a media release issued by the Pasco County Health Department.

Find out what's happening in Land O' Lakeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“In Pasco County, health outcome (death and disease measures) ranking has declined to 45th and the health behavior ranking dropped to 28th in the state,” the release said. “While the 2013 numbers reveal that our mortality rank remains the same as in 2012 our measures of morbidity have worsened.”

Florida has a total of 67 counties.

What Are the Solutions?

The county’s health department is working to improve Pasco’s overall health, said Mike Napier, the new administrator for the Pasco County Health Department.

“The Pasco county ranking highlights areas of concerns for our community and cause us to focus collectively on how we will make a difference," Napier said.

The county has recently begun to implement a health improvement plan and has created a Get Healthy Pasco coalition. These are meant to help lessen the “burden of chronic diseases such cancer, heart disease and diabetes on our community,” the release said.

The county’s rankings, Napier said, “validate what we have started. Going forward we need to establish goals, identify specific activities and ensure accountability to our community."

To find out more about Pasco’s rankings, visit the Florida Department of Health’s Florida Charts website online. Just select “Pasco” and the year you’d like to look at.

How would you improve Pasco County’s health? Share your ideas in the comments below!


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Land O' Lakes