Discover more about the region with innovative website

With all that’s going-on in medical reform, talk of taxing certain foods and drinks, improving regional mass transit, and a changing economy, I have lots of questions like:

How many children in El Paso County have medical insurance? What is the obesity rate? Is lack of sleep a problem in El Paso? How does the region compare with number of primary care providers?

Fortunately for residents of the Paso del Norte region there is a simple, fast, and free way to get these answers and more by accessing www.healthypasodelnorte.org. This website is available to you, in English and Spanish. It contains a vast array of regional demographic, health, economic, education, and other information.

Nonprofits or government agencies writing a grant proposal, companies creating a regional profile, and anyone needing data should find the website a valuable resource. The site has an entire section on Promising Practices, which informs professionals and community members about documented approaches to improving community health and quality of life. The Resource Library has a grown list of documents that can be used to help make the community a healthier place. There is also an up-to-date Funding Opportunities section listing a variety of grant opportunities.

Students from elementary school to college may find the website useful. For example, an elementary school student conducting a science fair project on food could, with help from an adult, quickly discover background information revealing that El Paso County’s food insecurity rate is 8.5% compared to the 12.9% in the rest of the United States. One would also find that 66.9% of students in El Paso are eligible for the free lunch program compared to 42.6% nationwide.

A college student writing a paper on alcohol consumption would discover that an average of 19.3% of adults in El Paso County reported binge drinking in the last 30 days; digging further, however, the student would discover that a break-down by sex reveals that 6.5% of females binge drink and 31% of males binge drink along with differences in ethnicity and age. While the statistics are interesting, they also have value for making decisions.

But the website has more than statistics. There is local, state, and national health news; someone can quickly calculate their Body Mass Index, check the current air quality, and find a walkability score for a specific zip code.

So next time you are wondering how many births to teenagers we have in the region, how many people get the recommended number of five servings of fruit/vegetable daily, current unemployment numbers, crime rates, or simply the total population, start your search at www.healthypasodelnorte.org.

Some Answers for El Paso County:

• Children with Medical Insurance: 91.3%, worse than the US average
• Adults who are overweight or obese: 67.2%, near the US average
• Primary Care Provider Rate: 48 per 100,000, about than the US average
• Adult Fruit and Vegetable Consumption: 15.3%, about the US average
• Children with low access to a grocery store: 5.4%, about the US average
• Adults who get insufficient Sleep: 36.4%, worse than the US average
• Life expectancy for males 76.9 years/females 82.5 years, better than the US average

If you’re interested in other answers, visit the free website and discover more about the fabulous region we call Paso del Norte.