County needs a stand-alone children’s hospital

On Sept. 4, the Lincy Institute hosted a community forum detailing the health and economic benefits of a stand-alone children’s hospital in Southern Nevada. Today, Las Vegas is the only metropolitan region in the nation with over 2 million people that is missing such a critical health care asset.

The absence of such a facility contributes to poor health outcomes for children, fragmented and inadequate specialized care, and a significant shortage of pediatric care providers. A commissioned analysis presented by Paul Umbach, a national expert in the economic impact of health care facilities, reports these shameful statistics: Las Vegas hosts only 59.5 pediatricians for every 100,000 residents, the region has a mere 267 pediatricians for 640,000 children under the age of 18, and Nevada ranks last in the nation in clinical care for children.

Before outlining the economic value of a stand-alone children’s hospital, Umbach noted how such a facility would serve as a hub to unify existing children’s care services provided by local hospitals and research facilities, plug the holes in the state’s pediatric health ecosystem, and stem the outflow of children to neighboring states for care that is unavailable in Nevada. In 2023, Nevada Medicaid paid $123.8 million to out-of-state providers for services for nearly 30,000 Nevadans under the age of 21.

Planning and construction of a 150-bed facility to be opened in 2030 will cost approximately $1 billion and generate more than $2.1 billion in economic revenue, support 11,575 high-paying jobs, and generate $58.2 million in state and local tax revenue. Once the facility is operating, it is expected to generate $1.2 billion in economic revenue annually and create 5,845 direct and indirect jobs.

At the event, expert panelists including Andria Peterson, Annette Logan-Parker, and Suzanne Bierman spoke about the current state of pediatric care in our community, the difficulty recruiting pediatric health care professionals, and highlighted the value that a stand-alone children’s hospital would bring to the treatment of children with rare and challenging conditions. They noted that available pediatric medical services are scattered (and often overburdened) across the region; a situation that a stand-alone children’s hospital would help to alleviate. Tina Quigley, CEO of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, noted that the lack of accessible health care continues to frustrate efforts to recruit new businesses to the region, placing us at a serious disadvantage to neighboring Phoenix and Salt Lake City when competing for projects.

A stand-alone children’s hospital will also bolster the state’s research capacity, attract much-needed health care experts and employees to the region, and create opportunities to train medical students pursuing their graduate medical education residencies in a variety of pediatric subspecialties. The lack of pediatric residency programs in our state is notable. From 2021 to 2024, graduates of the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine pursued a total of 14 residency placements in pediatrics, with none of those placements located in Nevada.

While the case for a stand-alone children’s hospital in Southern Nevada is undeniable, our challenge is creating a coalition of partners and collaborators willing to put aside their own egos and interests to bring this project to fruition. We must now find the resolve, patience and commitment to bring the many constituencies in our region to the table to make this idea a reality.

Umbach outlined a framework for how local hospitals, physicians, philanthropists, advocacy groups and community leaders should engage in a rigorous and transparent process to determine site selection and facility development, and create an economically sustainable business model. In making the case for a broadly representative coordinating board, Umbach noted that many other regions where his firm has worked wished they had done so to ensure that from the start all parties were able to offer their expertise and contribute to a process that will help revolutionize health care in our region and our state.

In 2013, Tripp Umbach led the Lincy Institute study that made the economic case for what is now the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV housed inside a state-of-the-art facility. While some laughed at our ambition, Southern Nevada elected officials, regional partners (including the business community), health care leaders and visionary philanthropists all worked together to deliver a missing asset needed to anchor our health care economy.

Now is the time for our community and its leadership to again come together to secure a stand-alone children’s hospital and continue the development of our health care economy. As this process unfolds, please get involved by making your voice heard and encouraging organizations and businesses that you engage with to advocate for this project. A stand-alone children’s hospital to help build a better Nevada is within our reach.

William Brown is the UNLV director of Brookings Mountain West and Caitlin Saladino is the director of strategic development at the Lincy Institute and Brookings Mountain West. David Damore is a professor of political science and Lincy presidential chair, and serves as executive director of the Lincy Institute and Brookings Mountain West.