The Southern Nevada Health District

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South Nevada Hospital

Mailing Address
Southern Nevada Health District
P.O. Box 3902
Las Vegas, NV 89127

The Southern Nevada Health District is a public hospital and is tasked with promoting health and well-being of the environment in South Nevada. The health organization offers several services to the people and visitors of South Nevada including administration, community health, environment, and nursing services.

Protecting and promoting the health, the environment, and the well-being of Southern Nevada people and visitors.

Services Offered to the Southern Nevada Community

The health institution offers numerous health services to the people and regulatory supervision on a continuous basis. There are multiple community services including Family Planning, Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Immunizations and TB, HIV/STD Services.

Others include Maternal/Child Health, Nurse-Family Partnership, Refugee Health, Epidemiology, Environmental Health, Health Cards, Vector Control, Community Health, Public Health Preparedness, Emergency Management Services, and State Public Health Lab.

The SNHD has been in operation for over 50 years having been established in 1964. In 2010, it embarked on the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program.

The facility has been at the forefront of promoting the health and environment of Southern Nevada since its inception. It has also educated more than 300 youth through the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program on reproductive health using a practical curriculum, open days and collaboration with community-based organizations.

Clinics

The Southern Nevada District offers services to the public from the clinics below:

Programs

To meet its mandate of protecting and promoting the health, the environment, and the well-being of Southern Nevada people and visitors, the organization has implemented 42 programs geared at providing better services to the people of Southern Nevada.

Aquatic Health Program

The Aquatic Health Program (AHP) takes care of the Public Bathing Places (swimming pool and spa) within the jurisdiction of Southern Nevada Health District’s. The Southern Nevada Health District’s Aquatic Health Program (AHP) is responsible for Public Bathing Places (swimming pool and spa). The Nevada Administrative Code (NAC) Chapter 444.010 provides the regulations and administrative framework for the program. In 1962, only about 613 public bathing was licensed, but that number has risen to the current 4800. Usually, administrators in the AHP engage architects, engineers, and contractors to ensure compliance. There is also field visits from inspectors during the construction phase to check the following:

Quality of water
Well-installed ground fault interrupters
Well-installed circulation and filtering systems
Regulatory compliance

The following is the process for obtaining permits

The initial meeting between project owners and regulator
Application
Review of plans and applications
Feedback transmission to applicants within 30 days
- Correcting plans or resubmissions
- Comments on corrections and resubmissions
- Inspection of the facility during excavation, plumbing, pre-plaster, and upon completion

The Aquatic Health Program employs specialists who conduct routine inspections in all permitted public bathing facilities. The objective of inspections is to ensure health and safety compliance in the facilities.

AIDS/HIV Prevention

South Nevada Health District Office of AIDS has been at the forefront fighting the AIDS endemic in the community. It has carried out awareness activities and programs since its establishment in 1985. In the present, the program involves the following:

HIV Patient-Centred Counselling
Evaluation Clinic for adults living with HIV and AIDS
Case Management for all persons living with the virus
Support for partner counseling
Outreach programs
Community recommendations
Circulation of safer sex items for the prevention of HIV
Training medical personnel Client Centred Counselling.

The AIDS/HIV program is located within the Sexual Health Clinic at 280 S. Decatur Blvd. Las Vegas NV 89107.

Backflow Protection Program

The program ensures the protection of public water safety from pollution and contamination. The regulatory framework is contained in the NRS 439, NAC 444 and NAC445A and gives the institution mandate throughout Clark County. Inspectors in the program have been trained on the identification of water systems with cross-connections at particular food outlets, public bathing facilities, accommodation facilities and mobile home parks to ensure backflow devices are installed properly.

Birth Certificates

The health district has maintained the record of births in Clark County since 1973. The cost of birth certificate issuance is as follows:

Birth Certificate Fees
(per request)

Purchase of First Certificate
$33.00

Each Additional Copy
$20.00

It takes at least two weeks to issue new-borns with a birth certificate at the district. However, for births before 1973, the records are available at the Nevada State Office of Vital Records Clark County Births as is the case for births outside Clark County but in the state of Nevada. Birth certificates are ordered by mail or in person.

Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion

The Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion office has a professional staff trained as health educators to improve the community’s health. They do so by mobilizing community members and supporting them. The staff collaborate and create partnerships internally and externally to bring about programs that support community health innovatively. Its mission is to empower communities and develop evidence-based programs and policies that promote health and health equality. It focuses on four main agendas including:

Chronic Disease prevention entails encouraging community members to adopt healthier lifestyles and environment. It sensitizes the community on matters such as nutrition, physical activities, tobacco usage and some of the most prevalent diseases such as diabetes, heart ailments, obesity, and cancer. The main focus is to reduce the incidents of the ailments through a concerted public effort and improve the quality of life of people living with chronic diseases.

On injury control, the program seeks to minimize death and disability especially in the first forty years of existence. It seeks to sensitize the public to be careful and avoid falls, drowning, vehicle accidents, and poisoning that would otherwise prevent adults and children from having a fulfilling and productive life. It has been very active within Clark County by providing information and tools in the local communities. Its ultimate objective is to ensure all residents enjoy the highest quality of life.

The tobacco control program seeks to prevent the youth from the habit, encourage cessation among smoking adult, eliminate passive smoking, eliminate health variations among various groups. The program sensitizes target groups and teaches about the dangers of smoking using media campaigns, community outreach programs, internet posts and youth ambassadors.

Child Related Services & Clinics

Southern Nevada District has numerous programs and offered education to ensure the wellbeing and health of all children. Child programs include:

Clark County Child Death Review

The Clark County, Child Death Review Team, reviews all death cases for children under the age of 18. It was established under the NRS432B.403 – NRS432B.4095 statutes. The objectives of the regulations are to:

Recommend law and policy improvements for the County
Improve the safety of children
Reduce preventable deaths of children

Clark County Recycles

The SNHD has an extensive recycling program to deal with the recycling of materials such as plastic, wood, aluminum, and other materials. The facilities are open to the public, and each facility has a list of accepted materials. Further, the SNHD maintains a list of permitted recyclers.

Death Certificates

The health district has recorded deaths in Clark County since 1988 and issues death certificates. The cost of registering deaths is as shown:

Death Certificate Fees
(per request)

Purchase of First Certificate
$33.00

Each Additional Copy
$20.00

The Nevada State Office of Vital Records contains records for those deaths that occurred before 1988.

Emergency Medical Services & Trauma System

The Emergency Medical Services and Trauma System is an initiative by doctors, nurses, emergency medical personnel, volunteers and policymakers. The Office of Emergency Medical Services & Trauma System is tasked with the provision of medical protocols for a rapid response team in the county. It has a team of over 3000 approved personnel at all levels of response including EMTs, Advanced EMTs, Paramedics and pre-hospital nurses. The systems certify and license EMS personnel working within the county. All EMS regulations have to be approved by the board of SNHD.

The mission of the program is to protect the public, providers and organizations in Clark County through competency and efficiency in the delivery of EMS services as well as pre-hospital emergency services, patient evacuation and care through leadership, training, regulations, resource provision and advocacy.

Emergency Preparedness

Emergency preparedness program sensitizes the entire community to get involved in preparations for emergency situations. It does so by dissipating information to the general public. Largely, the program aims to prepare the public for emergency public health situation using simple and effective procedures. Such threats include both natural and manmade calamities.

Southern Nevada Community Preparedness App

There is an app for the program to help in disaster preparation. The Southern Nevada Community Preparedness app contains a wealth of information on the best responses for disasters.

The application has the following additional features:

Share your safety status with relevant agencies from the phone.
Receive danger alerts and anticipated emergency notifications.
Locate safety shelters in the event of an emergency.
View dedicated evacuation routes and maps
Get weather and news updates from Southern Nevada
Receive personalized emergency response plans after filing simple questions.

Environmental Health

The environmental health division of the Southern Nevada District is a regulatory body working towards a healthy and safe environment for the people of Southern Nevada. Specifically, it has the mandate to regulate or oversee the programs below:

Epidemiology/Disease Reporting

The Epidemiology Office is a surveillance office for various diseases and conditions. The investigations it carries put help prevent outbreaks of diseases and act as an early warning office to prevent the spread of illnesses and health conditions. It surveys for both communicable and non-communicable diseases, chronic diseases and general well-being of all the people of Southern Nevada and visitors. All the activities of the Epidemiology Office conducted by the office are as follows:

Investigating communicable illnesses such as measles, influenza, and hepatitis
Investigating diseases caused by unhygienic food locally and internationally
Monitoring trends in chronic illnesses such as cancer and heart diseases
Assessing biological health hazards

The office also supports the medical community through recommendations for prevention and control mechanisms for transmissible diseases, they provide information to the public about disease infection and support the activities of health programs within the district.

Family Planning

The family planning clinic offers low-cost birth control services to residents of Clark County. It also attends to couples seeking to space their pregnancies and all services offered are confidential. Uninsured patients can access a whole range of financial services as well Nevada Medicaid, HPN Medicaid, Amerigroup Medicaid or Nevada Checkup for insured patients. The cost of services is determined by the income level and the number of people in the household.

Food Establishment Operations

The Department of Environmental Health Food Establishment Operations is responsible for inspecting all food establishments operating in Clark County. All licensed food establishments are regularly inspected by the staff of the health district for continued compliance with requisite regulations.

Healthy People 2020

Healthy People 2020 is an initiative by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Clark County is a participant in the venture through the Southern Nevada Health District as it seeks to

Identify priorities for improving health nationally.
Increase awareness of the public as well as the knowledge of the determinants of health, disease, and disability and the prospects for advancement.
Maintain measurable objectives and goals that have significance at all levels of national, State, and local governance.
Involve various sectors to act to fortify policies and improve those practices that rely on the finest available evidence and knowledge.
Identify essential research, assessment, and data collection requirements.

The revised priorities for 2020 include:

Adolescent Health
Blood Disorders and Blood Safety
Dementias, As well as Alzheimer’s Disease
Early and Middle Childhood
Genomics
Global Health
Healthcare-Associated Infections
Health-Related Quality of Life and Well-Being
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health
Older Adults
Preparedness
Sleep Health
Social Determinants of Health

Public Health Preparedness

The OPHP is an office tasked with coordination of efforts that prepare the public and respond to breakouts of infectious diseases, biological attacks, and other potentially devastating public health emergencies. The office coordinates the emergency training exercises involving staff of the Southern Nevada Health District to assess various facets of the National Response Plan and National Incident Management System. Conducting the activities allows the determination of the health district’s capabilities for fulfilling their mandate during disasters and health crises.

Mosquito Surveillance

The mosquito and vector surveillance program have been in place since 2004. It was a response to an incident West Nile Virus identified in Clark County in the same year. The program monitors incidents of West Nile Virus (WNV), Western Equine Encephalitis (WEE), and Saint Louis Encephalitis (SLE).

The surveillance program also tracks the types of mosquitoes breeding in the county. There are several emerging illnesses transmitted by mosquitoes such as Dengue fever, Chikungunya and Zika virus. Remaining vigilant on the mosquito species is essential and can offer a warning for new diseases in Los Angeles.

There have been over 150,000 specimens submitted to the Nevada Agricultural Department for analysis of WNV, SLE, and WEE vectors. About 4000 of the specimens have tested positive for WNV, and in some rare cases, WEE and SLE have been detected as well. Usually, there are only a few small areas that require a remedy for mosquitoes under the health district. For large problems, the Public Works and Parks and Recreation offices are called in.

Immunization Program

Sothern Nevada Health District maintains an immunization program that is very active in some ways:

Immunization Records

Nevada has a public access portal for parents and guardians to print out records of immunization for their children who are below 18 years. Also, adults can also print their records. The immunization services administered include:

Procedural immunizations for age-appropriate vaccines
Immunizing travelers
Seasonal influenza vaccine
Pneumonia vaccine for residents of 65 years and above
Immunizing college students
Immunization Child Care Program

Immigrant iimmunizations

Safe Drinking Water Program

Safe Drinking Water Program (SDWP) has been a part of the department since 1977. It plays a significant role in the promotion of health, environment and well-being of all residents and visitors of Southern Nevada. It is coordinated alongside the activities of the Bureau of Safe Drinking Water (BSDW) to ensure groundwater remains safe from surface water contamination. Bureau of Safe Drinking Water is a government agency to enforce minimum standards for all water systems under the national Safe Drinking Water standards. The outreach activities include:

Assessing sanitary conditions of water systems.
Visiting various sites to survey for conditions that can lead to total coliform sampling events.
Evaluating sampling plans.
Training water systems operators
Handling lab results to determine compliance with NAC 445A.454 and 445A.455.

Substance Abuse Prevention & Treatment Agency (SAPTA) Program

The program is aimed at treatment and prevention of substance abuse in a variety of programs and activities. SAPTA has a fund, Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant, which funds alcohol and drug abuse programs. The grant is funded by the federal government and receives input from the Substance Abuse Advisory Board. The role of Southern Nevada Health District in supporting SAPTA is testing for tuberculosis and HIV for all providers across Clark County. It also provides a lot of information on drug and substance abuse to the communities.

Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program

Southern Nevada Health District supports the activities of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program for teenagers in the local community. The program intends to enhance the safety of sex and reproductive health to reduce teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. The target group is adolescents of between 13 and 19 years reached to through education, community, and mentoring. Since it is a sensitive program, the program is a partnership between the community and health workers to provide evidence-based learning. The program focuses on high-risk areas such as Las Vegas and North Las Vegas.

Vector Borne & Zoonotic Disease Surveillance

The Environmental Health Division of the hospital coordinates with Nevada State Health Division to control mosquito populations and the spread of vector diseases. The hospital carries out regular screening of residents in affected areas. The program offers the services below as well:

Rodent Prevention and Control

Since 2003, the Health District has tracked rodents in urban centres and captured roof rats and deserts rats in urban places and business premises. All animals were checked for fleas and tested for the plague. There has never been an identified case. However, the health district does not exterminate rodents on private property.

Rabies Prevention

The health district analyses suspect animals for rabies infection if there is a risk to human life. The office of epidemiology follows up with all positive cases and recommends treatment to the affected persons.

On the whole, the Southern Nevada Health District offers the following programs including:

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Some links on this site are affiliate links. Portions of this content are generated by AI.

Clinics

Programs

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