Medical board pulls out of south

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2001 | 9:29 a.m.

The state board charged with licensing and disciplining physicians has canceled all of its future meetings in Las Vegas, opting to conduct business in Reno, far from the watch of the bulk of the state's population, sources told the Sun.

Gov. Kenny Guinn's office and the state medical association expressed concern over the state Board of Medical Examiners' choice to take decisions potentially affecting the public's health out of Clark County. The board previously rotated its monthly meetings between Reno and Las Vegas.

"It's important for all of our public bodies to make their best effort to have their meetings accessible to the public," Guinn said. "At the very least, we should utilize basic technology to make these meetings available to the citizens of Clark County where 70 percent of the state's population resides."

Dr. Lawrence Matheis, executive director of the Nevada State Medical Association, said he was dismayed that no plans were being considered for telephone or video conferencing the meeting for residents in Southern Nevada.

Board members did not immediately comment on their action. Richard Lagarza, counsel for the medical examiners board, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Dr. Cheryl Hug-English, president of the board and director of student health services at the University of Nevada, Reno, also did not return calls.

Members of numerous state boards agree that traveling between Reno and Las Vegas for meetings can be time-consuming and inconvenient. Dr. Robert Miller, who resigned in August as dean of the University of Nevada School of Medicine, cited the inconvenience of traveling between the southern and northern campuses as a primary reason for leaving the job.

But the logistical difficulties of transporting staff to other cities should be balanced against fair access, Matheis said.

Most of the state's boards and commissions rotate meeting schedules between locations in Northern and Southern Nevada. The state Board of Nursing meets in Reno and Las Vegas on alternate months, and the Nevada Office of Veterans Services offers video-conferencing between its office in Carson City and the Sawyer State Office Building in Las Vegas.

Dr. Marjorie L. Uhalde, president of the state medical association, in a letter to Hug-English last month expressed concern over the elimination of the Las Vegas meetings.

Uhalde asked Hug-English to reconsider the decision and investigate telephone or video conference options. Matheis said no one replied to Uhalde's letter.

The medical examiners board had been scheduled to meet in Las Vegas Friday and Saturday, but the location has been switched to Reno.

"Agencies that are not adequately visible are agencies that are not adequately accountable," said Dr. Peter Lurie, deputy director of the watchdog group Public Citizen in Washington. "Certainly it would seem desirable to increase citizen participation."