Editorial: Commission left in dark

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007 | 7:03 a.m.

An inexcusable lack of judgment on the part of the interim chief executive of University Medical Center resulted in Clark County commissioners approving a controversial contract for heart services without knowing a key fact.

The $5 million contract was awarded to Nevada Heart and Vascular, a group of cardiologists whose managing partner is Dr. William Resh. On Feb. 3, the day before the commissioners were to vote on the contract for a second time, Resh told UMC Interim Chief Executive Kathy Silver that a civil suit filed against him by the U.S. attorney's office nearly a year earlier was pending.

Silver decided not to inform the commissioners about this new information, even though the suit alleges that Resh took kickbacks from a California-based company. Federal prosecutors have lodged criminal charges against this company - SDI Future Health Inc. - in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud Medicare and insurance companies.

Las Vegas Sun reporters Marshall Allen and Tony Cook uncovered this latest twist to the heart-contract story, which began with the commission's first approval of Nevada Heart and Vascular on Dec. 20. That approval was suspended after Allen and Cook reported that Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates had not disclosed a conflict of interest.

A second vote was scheduled for Feb. 4. Silver said Resh was moved to inform her about the suit in case the previous holder of the contract, a heart group that said it was willing to fulfill the contract for a million dollars less, brought it up in public discussions before the vote.

Although the suit, which is pending until the criminal charges against SDI are resolved, contains only allegations - allegations that are flatly denied by Resh's attorney - Silver had an obligation to inform the commissioners.

The obligation was amplified by UMC's recent history, which includes the January ousting of its chief executive for failing to keep commissioners informed about the public hospital's finances. Given this latest information, the commissioners might want to schedule a third vote on the heart contract.