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Health Care

A light dusting

State Also Lags Behind Others In Health Funding

Some 12.5% of people in Clark County don’t have health insurance, compared with the national average of 9.4%, according to a report issued January 30 by the Southern Nevada Health District.

The report is part of a plan outlining health priorities for the county in the next three to five years: chronic disease, access to care, public transportation and health care funding.

The plan “represents a path toward measurable improvement for the health of Southern Nevada’s community,” Dr. Fermin Leguen, the district health officer, said in the report.

The study was a collaboration among health care providers, nonprofit organizations, academic figures and government agencies, according to health officials.

Chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes affect one in six U.S. adults and can be caused by factors such as tobacco use, according to health officials.

Some 14.4% of people nationally used tobacco in 2021, while 15.5% of adults in Nevada did, the report said.

Nevada also lags in public health funding, with $72 invested per person in 2021 as opposed to the national average of $116, according to the report.

–Grace Da Rocha

Food

Wine bar, Vegas chefs nominated for Beard awards

The James Beard Foundation’s annual culinary awards haven’t always been generous when it comes to recognizing the talented chefs and elite hospitality programs in Las Vegas, but this year is telling a different story. Downtown Arts District hot spot Garagiste Wine Room & Merchant has been named a semifinalist for the Outstanding Bar award, a category rarely cracked by Vegas venues, and five local chefs reached semifinal status in the Best Chef, Southwest regional category: Oscar Amador and Francesco Di Caudo at Anima by Edo; Kaoru Azeuchi at Kaiseki Yuzu; Yip Cheung at the Cosmopolitan’s Red Plate; and Jimmy Li at Shanghai Taste. The full list of restaurant and chef semifinalists can be found at jamesbeard.org/awards. Finalists in each category will be announced March 29, and winners will be celebrated at the annual ceremony June 5 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. –Brock Radke