Valley gets second child diabetes specialist

Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2007 | 7:11 a.m.

Recruiters for Summerlin Hospital Medical Center have hired a doctor who specializes in children's diabetes, bringing the total of those desperately needed specialists in the Las Vegas Valley to two.

In contrast, Phoenix has 10 such specialists and Salt Lake City has four.

In addition to his work in Summerlin, pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Asheesh Dewan will staff University Medical Center's Pediatric Diabetes and Endocrinology Clinic two days a week, and see UMC patients at his private practice throughout the week. The UMC clinic will be staffed an additional day a week by Dr. Alan Rice, the city's other children's diabetes specialist.

In recent months, the shortage forced some UMC patients to travel out of state to see a pediatric endrocrinologist.

Dewan is expected to start in February. Dewan, who most recently worked in San Diego, said in an e-mail that he decided to come to Las Vegas because of the need for diabetes specialists, and for the challenge of starting his own practice.

Dewan said there's a huge shortage of pediatric endocrinologists nationally because it pays poorly compared to other specialties. Once he has laid the foundation for his practice, Dewan said he hopes to recruit more of the specialists to Las Vegas.

Deborah Tussing, director of physician services at Summerlin and Centennial Hills Hospital, which is currently being built, said it's especially hard to recruit doctors into Nevada.

"People don't understand the culture in Las Vegas," Tussing said. "They just see the Strip. They don't know why they'd want to come to a place where they'd vacation."

The history of malpractice in Nevada is another stumbling block, Tussing said, as are the poor insurance reimbursements, which are lower in Las Vegas compared to other cities.

Most of the time doctors come to this area because they have a connection to family or colleagues here, she said.