OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The United States spends more on health care than any other country, but despite that, as Creighton University points out, the life expectancy is lower than other wealthy nations.
The fact is how CU introduced its new program: The Institute for Population Health.
"Our hope is that we'll have real impact," said the institute's director, Scott Shipman. "We'll be able to show that we are improving health at the community level...we have urban-rural disparities, we have disparities by race and ethnicity groups. There's lots of opportunities to better understand that drivers of those disparities."
He said those problems can be addressed locally. The institute will add research, work with the health system, and leverage partnerships to address the issues.
Douglas County Health Director Lindsay Huse said the institute was needed.
"Here in Omaha, we see disparities in things like birth outcomes between Black mothers and white mothers," she said. "We see disparities in who's able to access health care and who can't."
She said there's plenty to be done locally to address problems like this. The health department, for example, received a grant from the CDC to partner with organizations like Creighton and others to help combat overdose, especially by improving access to life-saving Narcan.
"This is great for everybody who lives here," said Huse. "When we're able to lift up the people who need extra help, really everybody's boats raise."
Creighton is hosting a two-day symposium to kick off the new institute.
