RE: “Shore counties get low health scores; Somerset worst in Maryland,” April 5
I must respond to an article written by reporter Brian Shane and printed in The Daily Times. The headline is misleading.
Somerset did rank low in some of the indices used in the survey referenced. We admittedly have too many smokers in the county, and too many people who self-report an inactive lifestyle.
I discussed with the reporter some of the innovative programs the Health Department has put into place to address these concerns. Unfortunately, this information was not included in his article.
Be that as it may, my primary concern is the inaccuracy of the headline. Scoring poorly on a few of the 25 measures does not constitute “worst in Maryland.”
The study clearly identifies a central Maryland jurisdiction as the “worst.” A western Maryland county is ranked next-worst and, while an Eastern Shore county does rank third worst, it is not Somerset.
It is unfortunate that the newspaper doesn’t seem to be interested in printing stories about the tremendous success and progress being made in Somerset County and across the Eastern Shore.
We actually do rank “best” in many categories. But if journalists insist on focusing on the negatives, I wish they would get the facts right.
The headline was just flat-out untrue.
Craig Stofko
Princess Anne
Stofko is acting health officer for Somerset County. –Editor
Source Article from http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20120410/OPINION01/204100370/Craig-Stofko-Somerset-mischaracterized-health-story-headline?odyssey=nav%7Chead
