Mission

This mission of the health district is, “To protect and promote the health, the environment and the well-being of Clark County residents and visitors.”

To this end, the health district offers services and regulatory supervision that impact the public every day – from the food they eat and the water they drink, to the public establishments they visit, the businesses they operate and the requirements they must meet in order to work in certain industries such as food service and child care.

History

The Southern Nevada Health District is one of the largest local public health organizations in the United States. The health district serves over 1.7 million residents, which is 70 percent of Nevada’s total population. Also, the district is responsible with safeguarding the public health of more than 37 million visitors to Las Vegas each year.

In recent years, the role of public health has expanded to include oversight and participation in areas such as bioterrorism and disaster and emergency preparedness.

The Southern Nevada Health District was created in 1962, following statutory authorization from the Nevada State Legislature to combine the county health department and the health departments of several surrounding cities.

At the time of its creation, the district employed around 30 employees, including four sanitarians that inspected some 800 eating and drinking establishments. The health district moved to its main office on Shadow Lane in 1965, and now has more than 500 employees working in four divisions:

Administrative Services

The operations of health cards, vital records (birth and death certificates) and public information fall under the umbrella of the administration division. Support services are provided by the human resources, information technology, facilities and finance sections.

Community Health Services

The community health services division coordinates services and programs including emergency medical services, epidemiology (disease surveillance and control), chronic disease prevention and health promotion, public health preparedness, and the Southern Nevada Public Health Laboratory.

Environmental Health

The environmental health division oversees plan review and inspection programs involving, food and beverage establishments, public accommodations, subdivisions, child care facilities, body art facilities, public swimming pools, public water systems, septic and underground storage tanks, and solid waste facilities.

A staff of around 65 environmental health specialists conducts more than 70,000 inspections of permitted facilities a year.

Nursing and Clinics

The nursing and clinics division provides more than 600,000 public health related clinical services each year at an average cost of $35.

Services are provided regardless of a client’s ability to pay and include, administering around 300,000 childhood and adult immunizations each year, sexually transmitted disease treatment and control, tuberculosis treatment and control, well-baby checkups, and HIV/AIDS case management.

Revenues

The health district is funded roughly one-third from federal grants, one-third from fees and one-third from local taxes.

Exclusive of special purpose tobacco settlement grant programs and the tire tax reserved for solid waste, the state’s general fund contribution to the health district’s public health services is less than 1 percent of the district’s budget.