Classes for older adults are among the activities envisioned by organizers of a Lakeland senior center that would serve as a hub for a variety of services. |Millann, iStock
1-minute read
Life expectancy in Polk County is more than two years shorter than the statewide average — 76.2 years, compared with 78.6 for Florida as a whole.
That gap is one of the key things the Florida Department of Health in Polk County hopes to address in an upcoming Community Health Improvement Plan.
“We have increasing rates of death from heart failure, stroke, hypertension and diabetes. And in all four of these causes of death, Polk County is currently higher than the state,” community health project coordinator Taylor Freeman said at a State of the County forum Thursday.
“We also are in the worst-performing 25% of counties for deaths from stroke and cervical cancer; hospitalizations for hypertension, diabetes, chronic lower respiratory disease and asthma; emergency department visits for diabetes and asthma; and new cases of prostate cancer.”
Polk County had slightly fewer deaths from suicide than the state average — 14.8 per 100,000 residents compared with 15.4 for Florida as a whole.
Freeman said county residents need better access to health care services and more help managing chronic diseases, particularly diabetes.
The Florida Department of Health in Polk County plans to publish a Community Health Assessment in June, followed by a Community Health Improvement Plan in January.
Recommendations will likely include better nutrition and exercise, as well as recruiting more doctors to Polk County.
Watch the forum
Insight Polk examines community conditions and solutions in six target areas from UCIndicators.org: economic & employment opportunity, education, housing, food security, transportation & infrastructure, and quality of life.
LkldNow’s Insight Polk independent reporting is made possible by the United Community Indicators Project with funding by GiveWell Community Foundation & United Way of Central Florida. All editorial decisions are made by LkldNow.
Cindy's reporting for LkldNow focuses on Lakeland city government. Previously, she was a crime reporter, City Hall reporter and chief political writer for newspapers including the Albuquerque Journal and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. She spent a year as a community engagement coordinator for the City of Lakeland before joining LkldNow in 2023. Reach her at cindy@lkldnow.com or 561-212-3429.
I have lived in several cities and this one is high on the stress level. It gets hot as you-know-what and has hurricanes. That last one was a doozy at my house. Came to 48K. The road system has not kept up with growth. And so on …
I have lived in several cities and this one is high on the stress level. It gets hot as you-know-what and has hurricanes. That last one was a doozy at my house. Came to 48K. The road system has not kept up with growth. And so on …