Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Valley’s newest hospital to open

The $70 million Spring Valley Hospital is scheduled to open Wednesday in the southwest Las Vegas Valley, marking another chapter in the region's explosive growth story.

Valley Health System, a subsidiary of Universal Health Services of King of Prussia, Pa., built the more than 280,000-square-foot hospital at 5400 S. Rainbow Blvd. Spring Valley will offer 176 private rooms and the region's third largest emergency room with 47 bays to accommodate a rapidly growing population in the southwest.

It was unclear this morning if the hospital would open as scheduled because it had not met all of its licensing requirements. The hospital is not allowed to admit patients until it has a license on site, said Lisa Jones, health facility surveyor with the Nevada Health Division.

Spring Valley officials could not be reached for comment Monday or today.

The hospital had an on-site inspection within the last week and did not meet all of the requirements necessary. Jones could not say what the hospital needed to complete or correct, but said the information would become public record once a correction plan has been filed.

Hospitals must meet multiple requirements including having staff in place, written policies and procedures available and an acceptable physical structure that meets building requirements.

If hospitals fail to meet any of the requirements, a certificate of deficiency is issued. Hospitals must then submit a plan of action to correct the items in question and provide evidence the work has been done. Once Jones' office approves the corrections, it recommends a license be issued from the Carson City licensing office.

The process usually takes a couple of weeks to complete. It's uncertain whether Spring Valley will accomplish all that it needs to before Wednesday, Jones said.

Several patient procedures are scheduled for Wednesday if the hospital opens on time. Other patients are expected to trickle in through the emergency room.

When Spring Valley opens, it will be the first of three planned for the southwest valley. HCA is building Southern Hills Hospital, which is scheduled to open in February 2004. Catholic Healthcare West is planning San Martin Hospital. All three will be within a five-mile radius of each other and will serve a population of more than 220,000 people.

"(Spring Valley) was built to meet the demand of the growing community," said Naomi Linardo, hospital spokeswoman.

The closest hospital to Spring Valley is Universal's Desert Springs, which is slightly more than eight miles away. Universal's Valley Hospital is about nine miles away.

Spring Valley has hired about 250 employees, half of whom are nurses. The staff is a combination of transfers from other valley hospitals and newcomers to the Las Vegas area health care industry.

"It's a very open transfer process," said Sue Bowmer, Spring Valley nurse manager. A form is filled out and inter-company employees are interviewed just like new hires, she said.

Recruitment and retention is done through Valley Health System for all four of its hospitals: Desert Springs, Valley, Summerlin and Spring Valley.

Patients at other hospitals will not wake up and find themselves in Spring Valley. The hospital will fill up with patients gradually. Billboards, print and broadcast advertisements and on-site signage will let the community know once it is open.

Ambulance patients will be given a choice of which hospital they're taken to unless their condition is life threatening or they don't have a preference, said Steve Kramer, administrative supervisor with American Medical Response. Then patients are taken to the closest hospital, he said.

The valley and the nation are struggling with a nursing shortage. Bowmer said the educational opportunities that will be available at Spring Valley are attractive to nurses. The hospital has to be competitive in what it offers because its nurses are not unionized.

Nurses will be able to take advantage of free computer-based courses on various medical topics and technology advancements related to their nursing specialty, she said.

Multipurpose rooms were built in every department to bring nurses and staff together for speakers and classes. Summerlin Hospital, also owned by Valley Health System, has a few multipurpose rooms, but not as many.

"Our focus is going to be educational and clinical excellence," Bowmer said. "Nurses are drawn to increasing their knowledge base."

Spring Valley officials say the hospital's opening will not affect existing hospitals or doctors' practices because each has an area of focus. Sister hospital Desert Springs closed its maternity and orthopedics departments this year because of escalating medical malpractice premiums and a lack of expansion space.

"They still have money allocated for Desert Springs," Linardo said, referring to the parent company. "We didn't take from that pool."

However, Edwin Kingsley, chairman of the Clark County Medical Society, said the rumor is that Desert Springs Hospital will likely close or convert to a different type of hospital -- something other than acute care services.

"I don't think doctors are anticipating a flood of patients in those hospitals. It's going to be a very slow process for those in the southwest," Kingsley said. "Most doctors who go to those hospitals are probably going to keep their foot in the door of the other hospitals until they see how things go."

A 60,000-square foot medical office building is scheduled to open next to the hospital in November. A second medical office building is planned, but the specifics have not been determined yet.

The hospital's infrastructure and the emergency and surgical departments were built to accommodate up to 400 beds.

The Las Vegas Valley is one of the larger markets for Universal Health Services. It's uncertain when the hospital will be profitable, but corporate officials said during their second quarter earnings call that a"profit will be reached very quickly as there is great demand."

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