Tuesday experts gathered to discuss the Nevada Health Rankings released annually by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, ranking counties in Nevada based on their current state of health.
The report ranks the counties in two different categories, health outcomes and health factors. Of the fifteen counties in Nevada with enough data to rank, Washoe County ranks 6th in health outcomes, and 2nd in health factors.
"[Health outcomes] have to do with the length of life and the quality of life of people in the community," Washoe County Health District Officer Kevin Dick says. "[Health factors measure] the conditions that we live in that contribute to the health of our community."
While the county wants to for the best they can in both categories, Dick outs more value on one of the rankings.
"To me, the 'health factors' is the more important measure," Dick says. "Because that effects the conditions we have now the lead to future health outcomes in our community. And those are the ones we can work to address and improve."
The health factors ranking is compiled of about a dozen different measurements regarding things like human behavior and economic stability.
According to Dick, Washoe County has improved smoking rates and obesity rates. Still, the obesity rate in Washoe County (27 percent) is barely below the national average (29 percent).
"Doing well in a country where we have the highest rates of obesity in the world is not something to brag om," Dick says. "But we're doing better than the other counties in Nevada."
John Packham, Associate Dean for the Office of Statewide Initiatives at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, says while smoking rates are dropping, the popularity of e-cigarettes, especially among young people, could cause the smoking rate to rise, since they do not take e-cigarettes into consideration for this study.
One of the measurements under health factors Washoe County is doing worse than other counties is housing.
"Housing is recognized by most people in health and healthcare as a major determinant of health," Packham says. "And we're seeing the impact particularly in northern Nevada, but even in rural parts of the state."
Dick says about half the residents in Washoe County spend at least 30 percent of their income on rent, which hinders people's ability to stay, or live healthy.
"I would say it disproportionately affects children," Dick says. "When that much of the income is going just to keep a roof over the child's head, that's much less that's available for good food and nutrition for that child, for medical care, for clothing, for transportation."
One of the measurements under health factors Washoe County is doing better than most counties is access to healthcare. Access is one of the measurements rural counties often have weaker results. One of the presenters at Tuesday's meeting mentioned Lyon County has a shortage of healthcare providers.
"It's partly a function of population growth," Packham says. "It's also a function of that county has got to compete with urban areas of the state frankly for those providers that are in short supply in most parts of Nevada and other parts of the west."
To read the full report, click here.
