Public health pioneer Dr. Otto Ravenholt dies at 84

Dr. Otto Ravenholt, Clark County's public health pioneer who tackled a wide range of issues from fighting contagious diseases and advocating restaurant sanitation to launching the coroner's inquest system, died Sunday after suffering a heart attack at his Las Vegas home, his family said. He was 84.

"He certainly was a true icon of Southern Nevada. We'll miss him dearly," his son, Jon Ravenholt, said Monday from Emmett, Idaho.

Dirk Ravenholt, a Las Vegas lawyer, described his father as "one of the most notable public servants in Nevada history."

Not only was he chief health officer and coroner for more than 30 years, but he also volunteered as administrator of University Medical Center and helped Gov. Paul Laxalt oversee state employees in the late 1960s. "All these jobs he never charged for," Dirk Ravenholt said.

"His interest was in the job and accomplishing things for the community but never pursuing monetary gains," he said. "He was a straight shooter."

Michael Green, College of Southern Nevada history professor, said Ravenholt "was our community doctor for a long time. He was the person who told us about health care more than anyone else in our time, and he did it in a way we could understand.

"He did his best to keep the politics out of what was good for us," Green said. "If there was a flu outbreak, he'd be the one we'd see on the news keeping us calm. He was good at it."

In 1963, Ravenholt was appointed as the first chief health officer of the Clark County Health District, forerunner of the Southern Nevada Health District. Before he retired in 1997, he had served as the first doctor in charge of the coroner's office, where he established an inquest system for officer-involved shootings.

As chief health officer, he reformed the state's outdated mental health laws and reduced the infant mortality problem by providing better parental and infant care for the poor. He also oversaw programs to curb air pollution, including one that required water trucks to spray construction sites to keep dust levels down.

He also raised the bar for restaurant sanitation, spearheading the fight against food poisoning by hiring credentialed sanitarians and never knuckling under to hotel and resort managers who thought he was meddling in their business.

"I think he built the public health authority here from the ground up as a valued institution in the community," said Dr. Lawrence Sands, chief health officer of the Southern Nevada Health District.

Sands noted Ravenholt's role in getting children immunized against diseases and establishing training for food service technicians.

Dr. Donald Kwalick, who was appointed chief health officer when Ravenholt retired in 1997, said Ravenholt's "biggest contribution was holding the health district together for more than 30 years and making it one of the best in the country. "I had big shoes to fill," Kwalick said. "He always knew when to do what. He really knew how to work the system and get things done."

Otto Hakon Ravenholt was born May 17, 1927, on a farm in Luck, Wis. He was one of nine children of Ensgar and Kristine Peterson Ravenholt.

He graduated from high school in 1946 and enrolled in the University of Minnesota, working full time to pay his way.

He enlisted in the Army in 1947 and was sent to a training school to learn Japanese. He pursued a medical degree after his discharge in 1952, earning the degree in 1958. He served his internship at the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital in Seattle.

He was hired in 1960 to head the Shawnee County Health Department in Topeka, Kan. He supervised Shawnee County's new health department before accepting the job as Clark County's first chief health officer in 1963. He arrived in Las Vegas two months before his scheduled start date to help persuade voters to approve a $1.2 million bond issue for construction of a new health center.

He tried his hand in politics in 1970, running unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary against Walter Baring for a chance at Nevada's only seat in the U.S. House Representatives. Baring ultimately won the seat.

A public viewing will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Palm Eastern Mortuary, 7600 S. Eastern Ave. A memorial service will start at noon Friday at Palm Eastern's chapel.

He will be buried in West Denmark Cemetery in Luck, Wis.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara Ravenholt of Las Vegas; sons Garth Ravenholt and Dirk Ravenholt, both of Las Vegas, and Jon Ravenholt, of Emmett, Idaho; a daughter, Kim Ringland of Grass Valley, Calif.; and several grandchildren. He also leaves behind his first wife, Marie Ravenholt of Emmett, Idaho.

The family prefers that donations in Ravenholt's memory be made to Three Square food bank, 4190 N. Pecos Road, Las Vegas, NV, 89115.

Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.