Southern Nevada Health District releases Community Health Improvement Plan

Plan addresses chronic disease, access to care, transportation and funding

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 30, 2023

LAS VEGAS – Concluding a sweeping, comprehensive process that started in October 2021, the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) released the Southern Nevada Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), which addresses public health priorities for Clark County for the next three to five years.

The CHIP is a community-wide strategic planning effort that is aimed at making an impact on the health of the community. It is a collaboration between government agencies, health care providers, non-profit organizations and academia. The CHIP addresses the public health priorities in four key areas: chronic disease, access to care, funding and transportation:

Chronic Disease: Chronic disease is a condition that lasts longer than a year or more and requires ongoing medical attention, limited activities of daily living or both. Chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes are the leading causes of death and disability in the U.S. and one in six adults in the nation have a chronic disease.
- The CHIP identifies smoking, and tobacco use in general, as an important factor in multiple chronic diseases. Tobacco control efforts are seen as a key mechanism for reducing the burden of chronic disease in Southern Nevada. In 2021, 15.5% of adults in Nevada used tobacco, while the national average is 14.4% according to the 2021 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS). In Clark County, the rate of smoking among adults was 14.88% (BRFSS, 2021).
- From 2018-2020, the heart disease mortality rate was 386 per 100,000 population in Clark County, and 319.5 per 100,000 in the United States (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, 2018-2020, ages 35+).
Access to Care: A person’s health should not depend on their ZIP code, economic status, religion or sexual orientation. From 2014-2018, the average rate of Clark County individuals lacking health insurance was 12.5%, while the national average was 9.4% (American Community Survey, 2014-2018). Having adequate access to care helps address disparities and is the first step in creating a more equitable health system for everyone.
Transportation: Reliable access to transportation can help increase employment rates while improving access to health care providers and healthy foods. It can also expand access to parks and recreation for a healthy lifestyle. From 2016-2020, the percentage of workers commuting by public transportation in Clark County was 3%, while the national average was 4.6%. (American Community Survey, 2016-2020).
Funding: Just 3% of health care dollars in the U.S. are spent on preventing disease and 75% of health care costs are related to preventable conditions. In 2021, Nevada’s overall public health funding was $72 per person; meanwhile, the national average was $116 per person (America’s Health Rankings, 2021). Increasing public health funding can improve employment rates, address high health care and transportation costs, increase limited public resources and improve educational opportunities.

District Health Officer Dr. Fermin Leguen commented on the CHIP and the value it provides to public health planning for the community, saying it provides clear, specific and action-oriented goals. “The CHIP is based on solid, evidence-based strategies. It presents realistic timelines for improving public health in Southern Nevada.”

The CHIP can be viewed on the Healthy Southern Nevada website at www.healthysouthernnevada.org. To learn more about the CHIP or to get involved, contact HealthyConnect@SNHD.org.

The Southern Nevada Health District serves as the local public health authority for Clark County, Boulder City, Henderson, Las Vegas, Mesquite and North Las Vegas. The agency safeguards the public health of the community’s residents and visitors through innovative programs, regulations, and initiatives focused on protecting and promoting their health and well-being. More information about the Health District, its programs, services, and the regulatory oversight it provides is available at www.SNHD.info. Follow the Health District on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.