Apache County

This weekend I drove to Farmington, New Mexico, a city of about 20,000 two hours from Chinle.  I went through the communities of Round Rock, Tsaile, and Lukachuki on my way to and from Farmington. These communities are some of the poorest in the state as well as the nation in terms of per capita income.  The county where I live, Apache County, is ranked 10th poorest in the nation.  It  is also one the largest in terms of area and includes a good chunk of the Navajo Nation as well as an Apache Reservation.

In this county which is 80% Navajo ethnically, we have some unusual statistical aberrations.  It is one of the few counties where neither English nor Spanish is the most common language spoken at home.  It has the highest fertility rate as well as family size in the state.  About 25% of the homes have no running water and a slightly smaller percentage have no electricity.  To say the roots and burden of poverty runs deep here is an understatement.

The implications on public health are great.   Rare is a child I see without dental carries (cavities), their own bed to sleep on, or clothes that are new.  One can never be sure if a child will return for follow up of a medical problem as things such as clocks are not found in many homes.  However, the immunization rate for children is almost 100% for those about to attend school, thanks to a very strong program supported by tribal leadership and the public health service.  We monitor, audit, and check every child's record once a year and is  there are any deficiencies we get them in to the clinic quickly.

Canyon De Chelly has great rainbows!

One final tidbit for those statisticians in the crowd.  The poorest town in the United States is Kiryas Joel, a Chasidic Jewish community of 20,000 in New York. Go figure?