According to the United Health Foundation’s 2023 Senior Report, Utah is the healthiest state in the country for Seniors. The information, which was released this last May, was shared in a report titled “America’s Health Rankings Senior Report”.

According to Dr. Rhonda Randall, Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President at United
Health care, the report is “a comprehensive review of the health of our nation’s older generations and a critical tool for individuals, community leaders and policymakers to guide their decision-making with solid data.”

This was the 11 th year the study was conducted. The report is based on the analysis of 52 different measures, five categories of health (health outcomes, social and economic factors, physical environment, behaviors, and clinical care), and 22 data sources. All that information
taken together is then used to determine overall state rankings.

While Utah managed to grab the top spot, New Hampshire, Colorado, Minnesota, and Vermont nabbed the other four in the top five list. At the bottom of rankings were Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Oklahoma.

Overall, Utah managed to rank so highly because of easy access to the outdoors, high-speed internet access, volunteerism rates, low poverty levels, and low rates of food insecurity. The fact that Utah has the lowest risk of social isolation in the United States is likely the driving
force behind it all.

Nichole Shepard, program manager for the Healthy Aging Program at Utah’s Department of Health and Human Services, stated, “If you compare Utah to some of our less healthy states…they’re more of your metropolitan states. There’s more “opportunity for participating
in physical activity and just simply being outside.”

Beyond all the great things that Utah has to offer its aging citizens, taking advantage of the
many resources is really what makes the difference in quality of life for Utah’s elderly. And for
that, many senior citizens need a good care provider to help.

“I found that the patients that are really successful and getting plugged into all the resources they need to age well, they have a care provider, like a child or a spouse or someone who is
highly engaged and proactive in helping them with that. Then there’s this other set of people that don’t have that kind of person … and they end up falling through the cracks a bit, Dr.
Megan Puckett, geriatrician at the University of Utah claimed.

Many nonprofit organizations, such as Suzy’s Senior Companionship Care ,understand the benefits that a professional and loving caregiver can provide to a senior’s life.