As the largest city in St. Mary County, MO, the health of the residents of St. Mary is an important issue that must be addressed. The city is well-served by a number of local hospitals and medical facilities that provide access to quality healthcare services. Some of these medical facilities include Mercy Hospital, St. Mary Medical Center, and St. Louis Children’s Hospital amongst others. Although there is no direct population information available for the city, it can be inferred from other sources such as median household income that the majority of people in this area live well below the poverty line and may not have access to adequate healthcare services due to cost or other factors. To address this issue, various government programs are available to help families cover basic healthcare needs and low cost clinics are being set up across the area to ensure people have adequate access to care when necessary.
The health of a city has many different factors. It can refer to air quality, water quality, risk of getting respiratory disease or cancer. The people you live around can also affect your health as some places have lower or higher rates of physical activity, increased alcohol intake, smoking, obesity, and cancer rates.
Physicians per Capita
There are 61 physicians per 100,000 population in St. Mary. The US average is 210 per 100,000 people.
Health Cost Index
The annual BestPlaces Health Cost Index for the St. Mary area is 102.7 (lower=better). The US average is 100.
102.7 / 100
Example: 110 = 10% more expensive than national average.
Water Qualtiy Index
The annual BestPlaces Water Quality Index for the St. Mary area is 69 (100=best). The US average is 55.
69 / 100
Note that this is a measure of Watershed quality, not the water that comes from your faucet. The EPA has stated that a healthy watershed is closely related to drinking water quality. The EPA has a complex method of measuring watershed quality using 15 indicators such as pH, chemicals, metals, and bacteria.
Superfund Index
The annual BestPlaces Superfund Index for the St. Mary area is 100 (100=best). The US average is 87.
100 / 100
The EPA's Superfund program is responsible for cleaning up some of our nation's most contaminated land. Our index is based on the number of active Superfund sites (over 15,000 in the United States), with particular attention paid to those on the National Priorities List which pose the greatest health danger.
Quick Facts
Commuting can effect your health. The average person in St. Mary commutes 26.8 minutes one-way, which is longer than the US average of 26.4 minutes.
Air Quality Index
The annual BestPlaces Air Quality Index for the St. Mary area is 73 (100=best). The US average is 58.
73 / 100
This is based on new measures of hazardous air pollutants from the EPA, called the National Air Toxics Assessment. This analysis models respiratory illness and cancer risk down to the zip code level, providing better detail and insight than the previous analysis based solely on results from air monitoring stations.