Loay Hanthel, left, senior project manager for M.J. Dean Construction, and Maureen Schafer, CEO of the Nevada Health and Bioscience Corporation, look over a touch-screen display in a virtual anatomy room during a preview tour of the Kirk Kerkorian Medical Education Building Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. The $120 million education building is scheduled to open on Oct. 5.
Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022 | 2 a.m.
As UNLV works toward establishing an Academic Health Center, it should coordinate with University Medical Center and other nearby partners in the Las Vegas Medical District — Valley Hospital, Desert Radiology, Steinberg Diagnostic, Clinical Simulation Center of Las Vegas and the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health — for an optimal web of quality care, according to findings from a new economic impact study.
And about that relationship with UMC: The hospital, which is owned and operated by Clark County, should be rebranded as “UNLV Medical Center,” the study continued.
The Lincy Institute, a UNLV public policy think tank, commissioned an economic impact study from the firm Tripp Umbach to set out a road map for an Academic Health Center concept.
It’s a project that could be worth more than $2.5 billion annually by 2030, according to the report’s findings. And in eight years, its operations could induce $2.4 billion in spending and $115.9 million just in state and local taxes, according to the study.
An Academic Health Center is a concept and not a standalone facility. However, the physical elements, like the campus on Shadow Lane where many UNLV health-oriented programs are located, are already in place.
While the public hospital UMC already has a strong relationship with UNLV, its name is not a direct reference to the hometown university, the report found. Nevada’s only level 1 trauma center has been “UMC” since 1986 to better reflect its role as both a comprehensive and teaching institution for young doctors, though the UNLV Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine didn’t open until 2017, and its first permanent, dedicated physical home just opened its doors this month.
But the UMC name acknowledges that “university” is shorthand for “complete care,” and changing the name to UNLV Medical Center would establish that.
“While most university medical schools do not own or operate their own teaching hospitals, the university’s name is prominently displayed at nearly every academic health center,” the report says. “The integrated name provides patients with the assurance that they will receive the highest quality coordinated care and also serves as a magnet for patients from outside of the region.”
As evidence, the report points out that the top-rated hospitals in six of Nevada’s nine peer Western and Midwestern states are branded as university academic health centers. (The rankings, from U.S. New & World Report, name Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno as Nevada’s best.)
“This bold strategic recommendation represents a vital piece in establishing Nevada as an important destination for health innovation and economic development,” the report adds.
Las Vegas’ medical infrastructure needs to expand its high-quality clinical services, the report continues. Nevada received the dubious ranking of last in the country for medical care quality, according to a recent federal study. Tripp Umbach specifically suggested improvements to the region’s pediatrics, mental health and telemedicine infrastructure.
The region’s medical community also needs to expand research programs. Nevada ranks near the bottom nationally in National Institutes of Health research funding and last among states with two allopathic medical schools (UNR has had a medical school since 1969).
The neighboring institutions surrounding the UNLV and UMC entities in the medical district also need to come together to create an even broader coordinated bioeconomic sector, the report says.
And, a key assignment of the fledgling medical school: grow residency training in partnership with the state. This is in progress, as Gov. Steve Sisolak announced at the med school building’s grand opening that the state is investing more than $8.5 million to residencies statewide.
“Residency training programs provide a significant boost to the regional economy as operations for these programs are funded by ‘fresh dollars’ from the federal government,” the report reads. “In addition, residency programs are the bedrock of growing subspecialty programs that are needed in Southern Nevada to encourage more patients to remain in the region for health care — thereby growing the regional health care economy.”
David Damore, the Lincy Institute’s interim executive director and the chair of UNLV’s political science department, hears all the charges. He said health care is economic development and diversification, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be about being the most high-tech.
“We just need to stop exporting our health care,” he said. “That will help us grow our economy and will also bring in high-quality jobs.”
That directly leads to better health care for more Southern Nevadans, said Dr. Marc Kahn, dean of UNLV’s Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at a panel talk unveiling the report’s findings Wednesday.
“We are here really to care for this community. Everything we do has to focus on the impact on the community,” he said.
