Quality of Life Indicators

access to healthcare data

number of doctors, nurses, specialists per capita
percent of workers with insurance
workforce wellness programs
infant mortality
prenatal care in the first trimester
emergency room visits
uninsured adults & children
cost of living - health care

number of doctors, nurses, specialists per capita

In 2004, Nevada ranked 49th in the United States with 1.89 doctors per 1,000 people (compared to 3 per 1,000 people nationally).  Source:  http://www.statehealthfacts.org

Highlights from the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services are listed below.  Source:  http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/reports/statesummaries/nevada.htm

• Nevada ranked the lowest among the states in per capita health services employment and percent health services employment.
• In 1999, Nevada was above the national rates of deaths due to cancer and heart disease. Nevada had the highest rate of deaths due to firearms in the country.
• In 2000, Nevada ranked 49th in the country in the number of hospital beds per 100,000 population and in 1999 ranked 48th in the country in the number of nursing home beds per 1,000 population 65 and over.
• In 2000, Nevada ranked last in registered nurses per capita, ranked 42nd in the number of LPNs employed, had one of the lowest ratios of nurse practitioners per capita in the nation, and had one of the lowest ratios of nurse anesthetists per capita in the nation.
• Nevada had 0.7 certified nurse midwives per 100,000 population, well below the national rate of 2.9. Nevada ranked 49th among states in certified nurse midwives per capita.
• Nevada ranked 48th in the nation in dentists per capita. The per capita ratio of dental hygienists was also lower than the national rate.

percent of workers with insurance

According to the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce, only 39% of employers with 50 or fewer workers offer insurance.  (February 2, 2007)

workforce wellness programs

According to the Wellness Councils of America, the Washoe County School District reports a return of $15.10 for every dollar spent on their wellness program.  http://www.welcoa.org/news.php?entryid=220

The WCSD Good Health Incentive Wellness Program won the 2006 national large employer (greater than 500 employees) award (one of nine given among seven categories) for STEPS to a HealthierUS, a Department of Health & Human Services initiative that advances helping Americans live longer, better, and healthier lives. To be considered, programs must address at least one of the following risk factors: obesity, physical activity, and/or nutrition. The WCSD Wellness Program targets all of the employees, retirees, and spouses covered under the District’s health plan. Preventative Medicine research shows a $15.60 ROI for these programs.  [Financial impact of a comprehensive multisite workplace health promotion program, Preventive Medicine, Volume 40, Issue 2, February 2005, Pages 131-137, Steven G. Aldana, Ray M. Merrill, Kristine Price, Aaron Hardy, and Ron Hager]

A 2003 analysis showed that wellness participants were 26% more likely to be in the lowest quartile of healthcare costs. The most recent analysis from 2001 through 2004 indicated a 7% reduction in the average dollar claim and fewer overall claims for wellness participants.  http://www.prevent.org/content/view/120/144//#hwle2

According to TMT’s November 2007 business eSurvey, 54% of respondents reported that they did not offer a wellness program or wellness incentive for employees, and 69% of these businesses also had not considered quantifying the financial benefit of such a wellness program

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TMT will track additional metrics as they become available.  Additional business survey questions include:

The type of employee wellness programs?
• Gym memberships or discounts
• Nutrition or diet advice or consultation
• Medical screenings
• Wellness classes – diet, exercise, stress reduction, disease prevention
• Substance abuse treatment
• Smoking cessation
• Other

Percent of employees participating in some aspect of the wellness program?

Quantified financial benefit of the business wellness program for every $1 invested? 

infant mortality

Infant mortality reflects the overall status of maternal health, plus healthcare availability to pregnant women an their infants.

prenatal care in the first trimester

Prenatal care is crucial to the health of mother and child and has been shown to reduce low birth weight babies and infant deaths. A study by the American Medical Association showed that well-educated and low risk women are getting more early care while low-income and high risk women are getting less care than is optimal. The percent of women receiving pre-natal care in the first trimester is dropping in Washoe County. This indicator may reflect that fewer women have access to health insurance.  Women without access to early prenatal healthcare have an increased risk of low birth weight babies, premature births, and infant mortality.

emergency room visits

In 2004, Nevada ranked 49th in the United States with 1.89 doctors per 1,000 people (compared to 3 per 1,000 people nationally).  State Health Facts

Nevada ranked 43rd in the nation out of 45 states with medical schools, with 53 graduates in 2005.  Inpatient hospital adjusted expenses per day in Nevada averaged $1,685 in 2005, vs. $1,522 average for the U.S.  State Health Facts

uninsured adults & children

In 2006, over 68,000 people in Washoe County did not have health insurance. Great Basin Primary Care Associates offers possible reasons for Nevada’s high rate of uninsured--Nevada is 51st in the nation for per capita expenditures over the last decade on Medicaid (Health Care State Rankings). We spend less on Medicaid than any other state in the country, yet we have one of the highest uninsured rates in the country. At the same time, fewer people than the national average are participating in Medicaid and Nevada Check-Up. Eligible people have not enrolled in these programs, either because of the complicated enrollment process or simply a lack of awareness. Small businesses today are less likely to provide health insurance benefits than in the past. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees make up the vast majority of Nevada businesses and employ more than half of Nevada’s workers.  According to the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce (2/2/07), only 39% of employers with 50 or fewer workers offer insurance.  Source:  Great Basin Primary Care Association, 2007 edition of the Nevada Study of Uninsured Populations, http://www.gbpca.org/uninsured/

According to the Urban Institute and Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured estimates based on the Census Bureau’s March 2006 and 2007 Current Population Survey (CPS: Annual Social and Economic Supplements), 21% of Nevada’s non-elderly workers were uninsured 2005-2006, compared to 18% in the U.S. 2006.  State Health Facts

Although the percentage of Washoe County uninsured has remained slightly below the state percentages, little improvement has been achieved.

According to TMT’s December 2007 community survey of Washoe County residents, 28.2% reported being retired; 8.2% reported not being employed; 42.2% responded that their employer provided them with health insurance vs. 13.2% reporting their employer did not provide health insurance; and 3.8% reported being covered with health insurance outside their employer

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cost of living - health care

Healthy communities take a broad view of health. They focus on wellness, prevention and access to quality medical care. When health care is hard to find or expensive, people may delay treatment, often making their health and economic problems worse. Nationally, health care expenses, even among those who have jobs, cause over half of all bankruptcies.

A large percentage of Nevada’s population is without health insurance; the costs for health care are especially important for these families and individuals. Health care costs in the Reno area have come down substantially over the years.