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Tribal advocates keep up legal pressure for fair political maps; 12-member jury sworn in for Trump's historic criminal trial; the importance of healthcare decision planning; and a debt dilemma: poll shows how many people wrestle with college costs.

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Civil rights activists say a court ruling could end the right to protest in three southern states, a federal judge lets January 6th lawsuits proceed against former President Trump, and police arrest dozens at a Columbia University Gaza protest.

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Rural Wyoming needs more vocational teachers to sustain its workforce pipeline, Ohio environmental advocates fear harm from a proposal to open 40-thousand forest acres to fracking and rural communities build bike trail systems to promote nature, boost the economy.

Report: NV Struggling on Mental Health, Infant Mortality

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Thursday, October 28, 2021   

CARSON CITY, Nev. -- Infant mortality went up 18% in Nevada in the years immediately preceding the pandemic, one of the topline findings of a new report from UnitedHealthcare.

The 2021 America's Health Rankings report on the Health of Women and Children crunched the numbers on 118 measures of overall health.

Dr. Ravi Johar, chief medical officer with UnitedHealthcare, said the data is intended to give policymakers a sense of how the community is faring.

"Shockingly, about one in five women, a little more than 18% of women in the United States, said that out of the last 30 days they did not feel mentally well for 14 of those," Johar reported. "So for more than half the month, one in five women did not feel well."

The report also found compared with the U.S. as a whole, Nevada has a low percentage of female college graduates, a high prevalence of illicit drug use among women, and low rates of enrollment in early childhood education.

Johar said advocates are bracing for bad news in next year's report, which will cover the time frame that includes the pandemic lockdowns.

"And again, remember this is pre-pandemic," Johar noted. "So with the schools being closed and virtual learning, we're really worried about what that's going to show in the future. "

The research showed Nevada teens commit suicide more often than the national average.

Dr. Alison Netski, a psychiatrist at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV and a primary organizer with Hope Means Nevada, said rates are higher in the rural West because of the accessibility of guns and the shortage of mental-health professionals.

She encouraged everyone to check out the website Hope Means Nevada, which includes the number for the suicide prevention lifeline.

"There's information for teens, so they can help themselves and help their friends," Netski outlined. "There's also information for parents, so they can understand more about the signs of mental illness. "

The state did make progress on reducing child poverty, cutting smoking and lowering teen births.

Disclosure: United Healthcare contributes to our fund for reporting on Health Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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