The state of well-being in New York

What should NYS healthcare organizations’ marketing priorities be?

Recently, Gallup Healthways released the 2014 Community Well-Being Rankings report, which measures the way people feel about their everyday lives in US communities, including social, financial and physical well-being.

When it comes to upstate New York, the results may surprise you. Syracuse ranks as #66, followed by Albany-Schenectady-Troy at #68, Rochester at #72 and Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagra Falls comes in at #89 out of 100 communities ranked.

So, what does this data tell us about upstate New Yorkers?

It tells us that in New York State, we have a well-being problem – and it could hurt your wallet.

The study found that community well-being directly correlates “with healthcare utilization and cost as well as productivity measures like absenteeism, presenteeism and job performance, all critical to organizational and economic competitiveness.”

That’s bad news for healthcare organizations that are increasingly measured on population health metrics.

The North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton area of Florida took the top spot for community well-being. Whereas in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area, the community has a low sense of community pride and physical health.

As marketers, how can we use this data to our advantage?

Tailoring our marketing efforts to promote a sense of community pride would be a great start. Or, promoting an overall healthy lifestyle that includes general wellness, exercise and a balanced diet may become necessary when targeting our local audience.

How do we survive in the new market?

We all are aware that the healthcare industry is changing drastically. Addressing the new state healthcare requirements in your marketing may be a low priority now, but when it is time to deal with these issues, it’s going to be a tougher battle in New York State than in states with a higher well-being index, like Florida.

Gallup also released their well-being index by state—read more about that here.