Massachusetts has one of the highest life expectancy rates in the country with people living an average of 80.7 years. But Springfield is below the statewide rate. In one inner-city neighborhood, life expectancy is 70.3 years.
The high rate of premature mortality is one of the key findings in the Springfield Health Equity Report released today by the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts.
It is an update of a report published five years ago by the organization that showed black and Latino populations lag behind whites in health outcomes.
WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with the institute’s executive director Jessica Collins.
