Who are healthier: Southern Nevadans or Northern Nevadans?
Branch Whitney, left, founder of the 52 Peak Club, and club members head out on a hike to Big Falls on Tuesday, May 22, 2012, at Mount Charleston. Members of the hiking club try to climb 52 peaks in Southern Nevada. All of the peaks are within 60 minutes of the Strip, Whitney said.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015 | 2 a.m.
In the north-south battle gripping Nevada, Washoe County can add another victory to its column — better overall health of its residents.
Clark County scored lower than its northern rival in quality of life as well as health factors such as alcohol usage, obesity and physical activity, according to a 2015 County Health Rankings report.
The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute today released its sixth annual set of rankings comparing the health of counties nationwide. Of the 16 Nevada counties represented, Clark County ranked sixth in health outcomes and 12th in health factors. Washoe County, which includes Reno, ranked third in health outcomes and fourth in health factors.
Clark County’s rankings didn’t necessarily surprise Dr. Joe Iser, chief health officer for the Southern Nevada Health District.
“I think the degree of socioeconomic disparities are greater down here,” he said. “I think we clearly have a larger number of transitory people.”
The percentage of Southern Nevada children living in poverty has steadily increased from 15 percent to 24 percent over the past six years.
Still, Clark County’s 24 percent falls within range of 20 to 26 percent when compared to counties with populations similar in size: Riverside County, Calif.; Orange County, Fla. (Orlando); and Tarrant County, Texas (Fort Worth). Researchers noted that one in four American children lives in poverty.
“We know income is hugely important to health,” said Kate Konkle, an associate researcher at the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. “It’s one of the reasons we want communities to be aware of and think about these social factors.”
Konkle said she hopes the rankings encourage communities to analyze their data, compare it to other counties and find ways to improve health factors.
The researchers acknowledge that widespread change will take time but said implementation of the Affordable Care Act could help speed that up. Konkle said she expects the law to improve certain health factors, such as number of insured residents and preventable hospital stays.