March 29, 2023. Reno/Sparks, NV – The County Rankings and Roadmaps program released its 2023 rankings and Washoe County ranked third in the state of Nevada.

Washoe County, with a population of 493,392, ranked better than the state average in:

• Primary care access (1 primary care physician per 1,230 residents; state average 1 per 1,700 residents)
• Adult obesity (27% of population, state average 28%)
• Mental health providers (1 provider per 290 residents; state average 1 per 420 residents)
• Mammography screenings (37% of population, state average 31%)
• Physical inactivity (20% of population, state average 25%)

Washoe County ranked poorly in areas related to alcohol-impaired driving, sexually transmitted infections and air pollution, which has been impacted from out-of-county wildfires.

“Washoe County as a whole performed very well in these rankings,” said Kevin Dick, District Health Officer in Washoe County. “While many of our traditional health care indicators did well, these rankings show that a lot of improvement is needed in public health. While there is hope on the horizon, state and federal public health funding is critical in addressing many of the public health issues impacting Washoe County residents.”

“The Health District remains committed to the community by investing in opportunities to improve public health outcomes by providing essential public health services, collaborating with partners, increasing awareness to available impactful programs and providing information to live a more healthy life. We have increased our investments in additional staffing to serve the community, the 5210 Health Washoe program and health equity. We hope by addressing these needs, coupled with future public health improvement funds from the State of Nevada, that we’ll see our public health indicators improve well into the future.”

The Health District in February released its 2022-25 Community Health Assessment that covers a lot of health data and information in Washoe County. The Health District will release its Community Health Improvement Plan soon that will show how public health organizations in Washoe County are addressing public health matters locally.

The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CHR&R) is a program of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Rankings provide data, evidence, guidance, and examples to build awareness of the multiple factors that influence health and support leaders in growing community power to improve health equity. The Rankings are unique in their ability to measure the health of nearly every county in all 50 states, and are complemented by guidance, tools, and resources designed to accelerate community learning and action.

The full County Rankings can be found here. Douglas County was ranked No. 1 in the state of Nevada with Pershing County finishing second for Health Outcomes. Douglas County was ranked No. 1 in the state of Nevada with Storey County finishing second for Health Factors.

To see the presentation materials from today’s event, go here.

The Washoe County Health District is nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board and has jurisdiction over all public health matters in Reno, Sparks, and Washoe County through the policy-making Washoe County District Board of Health. The District consists of five divisions: Administrative Health Services, Air Quality Management, Community and Clinical Health Services, Environmental Health Services and Epidemiology & Public Health Preparedness. More info can be found here.