Friday, Dec. 10, 2004 | 11:02 a.m.
University Medical Center finally broke ground on a new patient tower that will include an expanded burn unit and additional private patient rooms.
The Clark County-owned hospital received permission from Clark County officials in October to build the $57 million tower, which is the final phase of the hospital's master building plan.
The 175,000-square-foot expansion was postponed a few years ago because the hospital was in a financial crisis, forcing the county commission to allocate $38 million to pay the hospital's bills. The tower will be funded primarily through bonds issued by UMC.
"We've had our ups and downs, but right now we're up and we're excited about it," Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates told groundbreaking attendees.
Dr. John Ellerton, UMC's chief of staff, said the hospital expansion is a "sign of action after a period of inaction."
The tower, which is being built by Clark & Sullivan Construction, is scheduled to be completed in 2007 and will connect to the adult emergency room and the hospital's main entrance. Dekker/Perich/Holmes/Sabatini, the tower's architect, designed the new area to match the outpatient surgery center and adult emergency center.
The burn unit will be moved to the new tower's second floor, expanding it from 10 to 26 beds and allowing equipment to be upgraded. The burn unit is the only one in Nevada and also serves out-of-state residents.
UMC Chief Executive Lacy Thomas said the burn unit is extremely important to the hospital and the community.
"It adds to our ability to provide quality care to our community," he said. "It gives us a competitive advantage and lets the community know what our motivation is."
UMC is a teaching hospital that provides educational opportunities through the University of Nevada School of Medicine.
That relationship requires UMC to continuously upgrade the latest technology and medical information, Thomas said.
The burn unit and other expansions should enhance the hospital's payer mix, meaning more insured patients could seek care there if there are quality services.
"We believe people will choose a hospital based on its quality of care whether it's a public or private hospital," Thomas said. "The more we're able to demonstrate quality care, the more people will flock to us in the community."
The Lion's Clubs of Nevada donated more than $219,000 to the burn unit, which is part of an ongoing commitment the Lion's Clubs have with the hospital. In exchange for the donations, the Lion's Club name appears on the burn unit.
Other services that will be housed in the tower include an expanded outpatient pharmacy, a laboratory, the wound care center and the plastic and reconstructive surgery department.
Also, the top two floors will offer 56 private rooms for medical and surgical patients, UMC spokeswoman Cheryl Persinger said.
The hospital is not adding beds, but is creating more private rooms, she said.
Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony also included Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, U.S. Representative Shelley Berkley, Clark County Manager Thom Reilly and Earl Green, pastor of Mt. Charleston Baptist Church and chief of the Clark County Fire Department.
UMC isn't the only Las Vegas Valley hospital expanding to keep pace with the population growth.
HCA Inc.-owned MountainView Hospital is adding 36 medical-surgical beds and 12 observation beds for patients monitored and tested that will be available in early 2005.
The hospital is also planning a five-story patient tower, but neither the details nor a time line have been announced. Last week, MountainView opened a new parking garage.
Its sister hospital, Sunrise, is spending about $75 million to add 60 beds to its children's hospital, bringing the total to 235 beds. The hospital is also expanding its women's services department and building a three-story patient tower.
Universal Health Services Inc.'s hospitals, Desert Springs, Valley, Summerlin and Spring Valley, are expanding to keep pace with the population.
Spring Valley is scheduled to open its fourth floor in early 2005, which will add 35 medical-surgical beds.
Desert Springs opened a 40-bed, long-term acute care hospital on Sept. 27 in partnership with Kindred Healthcare Inc., which will operate the facility.
Summerlin Hospital completed construction of a 76-bed patient tower for pediatrics and medical-surgical patients. A pediatric intensive care unit is scheduled to open early next year and the hospital is also expanding its rehabilitation department.
Valley Hospital opened 11 additional emergency-room beds as part of an overall expansion that provides 54 emergency beds.
Universal Health plans to build Centennial Hills Hospital on 40 acres at the intersection of the Las Vegas Beltway and U.S. 95 in northwest Las Vegas. The company has not released details about the hospital nor a construction time line.
Catholic Healthcare West, which owns St. Rose Dominican Hospitals -- Siena and Rose de Lima Campuses, is building a new hospital in the southwest part of Las Vegas.
St. Rose Dominican Hospitals -- San Martin Campus will have 110 beds when it opens in the summer of 2006. An additional 90 beds will be added once demand increases.
Catholic Healthcare's Las Vegas-area President and Chief Executive Rod Davis told the Sun in July that the Siena and Rose de Lima campuses plan to add patient towers as the population increases. No dates have been scheduled for those expansion plans.
IASIS Healthcare LLC, which purchased North Vista Hospital on Feb. 1, is spending about $13 million to expand its women' services department. The plans call for an expanded obstetrics department and a level-two nursery for critical babies.
Meadows Hospital LLC announced plans several years ago to build a 212-bed hospital on 14 acres at the northwest corner of Tropical Parkway and Losee Road in North Las Vegas.
The private group of investors that make up Meadows Hospital LLC has been trying to raise funds for the $205 million hospital, which is supposed to be part of a larger development that would include a hotel, senior apartments, skilled-nursing and assisted-living centers and community businesses.
Jim McKinney, chief executive of North Vista, said he and IASIS executives have been in discussions with Meadows' executive to consider a partnership that would move the Meadows construction forward.
Bill Welch, president and chief executive of the Nevada Hospital Association, said the Las Vegas Valley's hospitals are "continuously in a catch-up mode" because of the population growth.
Clark County's hospitals meet their capacity much faster than hospitals in other parts of the country, he said.
Adding beds isn't the only challenge for Las Vegas Valley hospitals. Once the number of beds increase, the hospitals have to find staff to care for the patients in those beds, he said.
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