“Fragile and at-risk” is how Nevada’s public health infrastructure could be described based on the findings of a recent 125- page assessment conducted by the 69ÀÏʪ»ú¸£Àû Extension’s Nevada Economic Assessment Project team, in partnership with the Nevada Association of Counties. The assessment, which maps the public health infrastructure in 15 of 17 counties in Nevada (excluding the two most urban counties, Clark and Washoe), provides baseline data for decision-makers and stakeholders, helping them prioritize the highest needs in their communities and proposing solutions.
“This is a base data collection that allows us to see what’s really going on in Nevada, see what we have, see what we’re missing, and then from there, perhaps we can improve,” said Joe Lednicky ’10 (mathematics), Extension economist who led the assessment, titled “Foundational Public Health Services in Suburban, Rural and Frontier Nevada.”
Public health infrastructure supports population-wide health rather than individual care. While infrastructure may bring to mind buildings, it also includes people, programs, capacity and expertise.
“When public health is done well, you often don’t know it’s being done,” said Amy Hyne-Sutherland, Nevada Association of Counties public health coordinator. “The gaps shown in this comprehensive assessment are real opportunities to serve our communities.”
Hyne-Sutherland noted that while many studies address community health needs, a public health infrastructure assessment outside Clark and Washoe counties had never been conducted.
The assessment focused on 13 key components of foundational areas and capabilities, using the Foundational Public Health Services Assessment, a national tool adapted for Nevada’s unique landscape, with rural communities spread across large counties. As part of the assessment, Extension conducted online surveys, which were followed by in-person meetings with stakeholders in each county, including county leadership, emergency managers, CEOs from critical access hospitals, school district administrators and others.
Extension Specialist Marlene Rebori ’05 Ph.D. (political science), who helped plan and facilitate the in-person meetings, emphasized the importance of community engagement. “You bring the people in who are affected, and who are impacted by the decision and have them provide their input about what’s really happening, what’s going on.”
With the assessment completed, Hyne-Sutherland says it serves as both a strategic planning tool and an advocacy resource for increased public health infrastructure support, which she believes should be a priority.
“We’re in this perpetual state of being at risk and fragile with our public health system because we are largely grant-funded,” Hyne-Sutherland said. “We don’t have noncategorical, sustainable funding. And so, the result is that we get what we pay for, which is hardly anything. Nevada ranks 47th in the nation for state investment in public health.”
*Image courtsey of Peppy Green