Closing cancer center was the wrong option

Sheila Leslie, Reno

Sunday, April 12, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

Regarding the Las Vegas Sun’s Thursday editorial, “Embarrassment for Nevada”:

The “60 Minutes” segment on the closure of the UMC Cancer Clinic was heartbreaking and tragic. I’d like to point out that the decision to close the cancer center was made by Clark County, not the Nevada Legislature.

The budget for Clark County last year was $1.4 billion. The cost of keeping the doors open at the cancer clinic was $3.5 million, according to testimony we heard. There are many ways Clark County and UMC could have saved $3.5 million through increased efficiencies, improved management, or by reducing costs in other areas of the county’s budget. Instead, they chose to close the doors of the cancer clinic.

I believe that was the wrong decision.

It is true that funding to every hospital in the state has been reduced. As Assembly chairwoman of the joint budget subcommittee overseeing the health care budget, I have been working with hospital representatives to determine how unavoidable cuts can best be structured to minimize their impact.

As local and state governments are forced to reduce their budgets in this economic crisis, very difficult decisions must be made with sometimes painful consequences. The state budget revenue is down almost 37 percent, and there are very few painless options left to make up that kind of deficit.

The Legislature has been struggling for the past year to keep its budget balanced while protecting essential services and meeting its constitutional mandate to provide for education, health and human services, and public safety. We have had to make gut-wrenching decisions on where to draw the line. Sadly, with our budget shortfalls even worse than they were when we arrived in Carson City, more very difficult decisions are likely.

Turning cancer patients away with no place to go, however, is simply unacceptable.

The writer is a Democratic state assemblywoman.