Creation of state minority health office urged

Hispanic teens are becoming pregnant at more than twice the statewide rate, and the pregnancy rate among black teens is well above the state average, according to the latest statistics.

"There's no question Nevada has a teen pregnancy problem that's disproportionate among ethnic groups and we need to deal with it," said Yvonne Sylva, head of the state Health Division.

Ellie Lopez-Bowlan, a board member of Nevada Hispanic Services, said an Office of Minority Health is needed to help deal with the problem.

She said the agency could identify minority health needs and monitor dollars spent to reach high-risk populations. Thirty-four other states have such an office.

"We have failed the minority communities," Lopez-Bowlan said. "We need some agency to track minority health in the communities."

The office could address the perception among minorities that they've been excluded from health planning, said John Yacenda, director of the Great Basin Primary Care Association.

"Whether or not the teen-age pregnancy prevention programs were not addressing Hispanic and African-American teens adequately, the important part is the African-American and Hispanic communities perceive that they are not," Yacenda said.

Sylva said the plan might allow a more coordinated approach to health policy, but she's not convinced a separate office is the sole answer.

State Sen. Bernice Martin-Mathews, D-Reno, said minorities need better access to health care, but she's also not sure the office is necessary.

"I do just think we keep stacking one bureaucratic level on another," she said.

Money shouldn't be taken away from health education and prevention programs, said Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas.

"Sometimes I think it would be more effective to have activists involved and not bureaucrats," she said.

The Legislative Interim Health Care Committee is expected to consider the proposal in August.

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