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Quality Health Services for Southern Nevada Residents
With a population of nearly 2 million, Clark County is home to some of the finest hospitals and specialty health-care facilities staffed by talented, recognized physicians and providers. Residents of all ages, from newborns to older adults, have access to a suite of comprehensive services and treatments. In addition, many facilities have been built, renovated or expanded in recent years, ensuring that the most modern and state-of-the-art equipment is utilized. Learn more in this section about specific hospitals and facilities available in the region along with the current state of Southern Nevada health care.Health care is one of the leading pillars upon which the region is expanding and diversifying its economy. To support this growth, there are a number of teaching institutions in the area specializing in medical and health care education. The University of Nevada School of Medicine released a report stating that “modest increases in the number of graduates from the University of Nevada School of Medicine in the past five years, and the fact that a majority of physicians completing School of Medicine residency and fellowship programs remain in Nevada to practice medicine, have contributed to the increase in the number of licensed physicians in Nevada over the past decade.” The report credits a large proportion of the increase to the successful ability of communities, existing medical practices and health facilities to recruit and retain physicians from other states and countries. Furthermore, in the past decade, there has been steady growth in the state’s physician workforce.
Important to every community is the infrastructure that supports its services. One important organization is the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD), whose mission is to “protect and promote the health, the environment and the well-being of Clark County residents and visitors.” SNHD offers services and regulatory supervision that impact the public every day, from the food they eat and the water they drink to the public establishments they visit, the businesses they operate and the requirements they must meet to work in certain industries, such as food service and child care.
SNHD is one of the largest local public health organizations in the United States, serving the residents of Clark County and representing 70 percent of Nevada’s total population. Also, the district is responsible for safeguarding the public health of more than 37 million visitors to Las Vegas each year. In recent years, the role of public health has expanded to include oversight and participation in areas, such as bioterrorism, disaster and emergency preparedness.
The community health services division coordinates services and programs including emergency medical services, epidemiology (disease surveillance and control), chronic disease prevention and health promotion, public health preparedness and the Southern Nevada Public Health Laboratory.
The nursing and clinics division provides more than 600,000 public health-related clinical services at an average cost of $35. Services are provided regardless of a client’s ability to pay and include administering around 300,000 childhood and adult immunizations each year, sexually transmitted disease treatment and control, tuberculosis treatment and control, well-baby checkups and HIV/AIDS case management each year.
Another key group is the nonprofit Southern Nevada Medical Industry Coalition (SNMIC). The coalition is a unique alliance that includes health-care providers, consumers, committed citizens and government representatives who are partnered together and are concerned about the well-being of Southern Nevada residents.
Since its inception, SNMIC has grown to more than 600 members statewide with 150 of those members serving as professional volunteers who make up the organization’s task forces. The organization has garnered the attention of all facets of the medical industry through the years, including academics and government, civic organizations as well as organizations related to health care in the private sector.
Some recent SNMIC achievements include ongoing recruitment of Southern Nevada’s “Who’s Who” in health care as well as overall enhanced communication efforts, research and development of an RN graduate workplace-transition program and outreach to statewide political candidates who share SNMIC’s values.
MAJOR HEALTH-CARE INITIATIVES
Several major initiatives have taken shape as of late and show encouraging signs to Las Vegas and Clark County residents concerned about health care. Three organizations, Nevada Cancer Institute, Workforce Connections and the College of Southern Nevada (CSN), have teamed up to train nurses and allied health-care professionals on cancer treatments and research. The program is called the Plus One Program and helps transition CSN graduates from nursing, medical laboratory technology, radiation technology and health information technology programs into highly specialized full-time jobs in health care. These major initiatives are facilitated by a large number of people working behind the scenes who are all concerned about bringing the best health care to Southern Nevada.
FULL-SERVICE HOSPITALS
— BOULDER CITY HOSPITAL
Boulder City Hospital is a nonprofit acute-care Critical Access hospital, providing for the health-care needs of Boulder City and other rural areas of Southern Nevada. The hospital provides 24-hour emergency care, inpatient and outpatient surgery, medical surgical and ICU care, skilled nursing and a full host of ancillary services.
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