Editorial: Plans need fair review

Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2005 | 9:42 a.m.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman has spent five years promoting the idea of building an academic medical center at Union Park in downtown Las Vegas. When a proposed partnership between the University of Nevada Medical School and the renowned Cleveland Clinic didn't pan out, Goodman, about a year ago, began talks with the equally prominent University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Administrators and doctors there were open to the idea and talks are ongoing.

Goodman's action stimulated Nevada's hospital administrators and doctors to wonder aloud about the potential for improving health care here without shopping for out-of-state expertise. In June they promised to offer a plan to use local facilities and homegrown medical talent and late last week they released it. The plan calls for greatly improving the University of Nevada Medical School by expanding its programs, tripling the number of positions in area hospitals for medical students and doctors who are in training and slowly developing the brick-and mortar infrastructure that may, over time, become an academic medical center.

Both plans have advantages and disadvantages. A University of Nevada-Pittsburgh Medical Center partnership would benefit from the Pennsylvania school's vast experience in developing a top-tier health-care facility. But the cost of immediately building a medical center, estimated to be anywhere from $400 million to $700 million, would be a local responsibility and take years to realize. The local plan, put together by the Nevada Hospital Association, could come together much more quickly, as area hospitals are promising to immediately increase their annual funding of the University of Nevada Medical School by $23 million.

Both plans merit an equal amount of study by Goodman, Chancellor Jim Rogers, local elected officials and the public. Underlying Goodman's idea for an academic medical center was his goal to improve health care in Nevada. We are in favor of being open-minded about all plans that would lead to realizing that goal.