Cleveland Clinic considers center in Las Vegas

Judy Odierna

Friday, March 7, 2003 | 11:02 a.m.

The Cleveland Clinic is showing a growing interest in establishing an academic medical center in Las Vegas, with representatives from the clinic planning to visit Las Vegas next week.

The representatives are scheduled to meet with officials from the city and the University of Nevada School of Medicine.

Cole Hatcher, Cleveland Clinic spokesman, said Thursday that it was premature to comment on the prospect of establishing a Las Vegas campus.

The Cleveland Clinic integrates clinical and hospital care with research and physician training. It is the largest employer in the Cleveland region, employing more than 26,000 people.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and Councilman Lawrence Weekly visited the Cleveland campus this week in an effort to persuade officials to establish a center here. Goodman said a medical center could be located on 25 acres of the 61 acres of vacant land owned by the city near downtown.

"I hope the community will do what they should do to encourage these folks to have a real presence here," Goodman said.

Also working to try to attract the Cleveland Clinic is Dean Stephen McFarlane of the University of Nevada School of Medicine.

McFarlane said he met with clinic representatives about six weeks ago and that they have continued to stay in contact.

"They are interested, but they are only interested if they can partner with a school of medicine," he said. "It's very complicated and something that needs to be done carefully. There's a lot to work out with other hospital partners."

One of the medical school's partners is the financially troubled University Medical Center, which serves as the primary clinical campus for students.

Representatives of UMC could not immediately be reached for comment.

But Cheryl Smith, spokeswoman for Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, said there is some concern from officials at the hospital over the clinic's presence in Las Vegas.

"We don't know the specifics of what the Cleveland Clinic would want to do in the community," Smith said. "We would support any type of research facility or biotech company.

"Where we need to be concerned is Sunrise already has a fully accredited comprehensive oncology and cancer treatment program in Las Vegas. Our physicians are excellent, clearly qualified and well trained. We shouldn't underestimate their abilities."

McFarlane said he hopes local doctors and hospitals will not see the clinic as competition.

"When you have patients that require services that are not provided in the Vegas area, they are sent out to other areas," McFarlane said. "We're hoping to develop an expertise in the city of Las Vegas, and it shouldn't be a threat. It should be an added resource."

Goodman also touched upon the clinic's intentions at his weekly news conference on Thursday.

"The Cleveland Clinic wants to come to a place where they are providing services that aren't in existence," he said. "They aren't looking to compete."

Weekly said he would like to see a facility that specializes in treating cancer created by the Cleveland Clinic.

Goodman said that financing the proposed facility is one of the biggest concerns.

Bringing the clinic here would cost an estimated $500 million for land acquisition, development of the first buildings and operational costs.

"Their accountants would be coming out assuming we get past next Wednesday," Goodman said. It would take another three to six months to determine whether the project is financially feasible, he said.

The city's leaders are hoping their lobbyists in Washington can garner $3 million from the federal government to help with initial costs for an academic medical center.

"As far as I'm concerned, as the mayor, the city is going to do everything we can to get these people here and we'll begin those discussions after they tell us what they need," Goodman said.

A Las Vegas campus would be similar to satellite medical centers that the Cleveland Clinic has in Weston, Fla., and Naples, Fla.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer, however, reported late last year that those satellite centers were not doing well.

The newspaper reported Dec. 8 that the clinic lost $340 million in the stock market during the past two years as a result of an aggressive strategy that invested 60 percent of its equity largely in technology stocks. The strategy had fueled the clinic's growth during the 1990s but backfired when the market fell.

Both Goodman and Weekly said they were impressed by the technology and the appearance of the Cleveland Clinic's Ohio facilities. Goodman mentioned a 100-seat teaching room where students can watch doctors performing operations and can ask the surgeons questions about the procedures as they perform them.