Our Picture of Health 1998:
Focusing on Community Health to the Year 2000

CHAPTER 1: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Arts and Culture

Positive Trends

  • 24% increase in the number of arts and cultural organizations.
  • 76% of financial support for arts and culture come from the private sector.
  • Arts and cultural events are well attended.
  • Arts organizations had an estimated $2 million impact on the local economy in 1996.

Uncertain Trends

  • Most school students do not receive music or art education on a regular basis.

Spirituality

Positive Trends

  • 64% report that spiritual values play a role in their daily decision making.

Economy

Positive Trends

  • Unemployment is down.
  • 45% of survey respondents say they're financially better off than one year ago.
  • The cost of living is on a par with the national average.
  • The cooperation of government, businesses and nonprofits has helped move residents from welfare to work.

Uncertain Trends

  • Employers cite the need for a more highly skilled labor force.
  • Insufficient child care options for night, swing shift and infants.

Negative Trends

  • The two largest industries, service and retail, employ more than half of workers in Mesa County and pay the lowest wages ($22,211 and $14,762, respectively).
  • 14.5% in Mesa County live below the poverty level, compared to 11.5% statewide.
  • 37% of students in District #51 qualify for free or reduced lunches.
  • 18.7% of citizens say they're financially worse off than one year ago.

Education

Positive Trends

  • 55.9% of survey respondents are computer literate.
  • 52.5% of survey respondents have home computers.
  • 42.8% of survey respondents have Internet access.
  • Local financial support for school construction has increased.
  • 52% of survey respondents participated in an educational experience during the past year.
  • Senior citizens gave 8,000 hours of volunteer time for schools in 1996-97.
  • School buildings are almost always busy with community use.

Uncertain Trends

  • Dropout rates are fluctuating.
  • District #51 teacher-student ratio of 25.5:1 exceeds the state and Districts #49 and #50.

Negative Trends

  • 21% of adults are estimated to be illiterate.
  • Student proficiencies in math and reading are less than desirable.
  • Data only available for District #51 indicated too many K-2nd graders are below grade level performance.

Health and Well-Being

Positive Trends

  • Motor vehicle death rate is down.
  • Seat belt use has increased.
  • Heart disease death rate is down.
  • Abortions are down from 321 to 253.
  • Prenatal care received after first trimester down from 22.8% to 14.3%.
  • Proportion of respondents who smoke is down.

Negative Trends

  • Cost prevented 10.3% of respondents from getting health care, compared to 7.3% in 1995.
  • Infant death rate is up from 9.8 to 11.7.
  • Low birth-weight births are up.
  • Cancer death rate is up.
  • Percent respondents who are overweight is 27.4% compared to 22.3% in 1995.
  • Substance abuse by adults and teens continues to rise.

Natural Environment

Positive Trends

  • An effort is underway to preserve additional open space through land conservancy.
  • There are 18 local partnerships working to preserve and/or restore natural resources.
  • Air quality is within normal limits.

Negative Trends

Built Environment

Positive Trends

  • Public transportation has been approved for implementation by the year 2000.
  • The rental vacancy rate has increased.
  • Rental prices dropped 15% since 1995.
  • Commercial real estate sales increased more than 30% in 1997.

Uncertain Trends

  • The cost of the average three-bedroom home in 1997 was up 7.28% from 1996.
  • With limited service and quality, air transportation continues to be a problem.
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