Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009 | 4:35 p.m.
Sun Archives
Sun Archives
- Unpaid bills continue to dog UMC, vex officials (9-17-2009)
- UMC’s bill collections baffle (7-1-2009)
- Grant to restore cancer programs at UMC (5-28-2009)
- Editorial: Possible relief for UMC (4-14-2009)
- Fighting for its life, UMC program loses patient (4-14-2009)
- Bill to open UMC cancer OK'd on party lines (4-9-2009)
- A black eye in medicine brings posturing, again (4-9-2009)
- UMC CEO: Bill to open cancer center doesn't address funding (4-8-2009)
- State measure could force closure of UMC, county says (3-31-2009)
- UMC might benefit from a hospital taxing district (1-18-2009)
If Clark County ever sells University Medical Center, or even part of it, to jettison the troubled hospital, it’s going to take intensive meetings with unions, business leaders and public officials.
But judging by the talk of commissioners who heard from hospital officials during a special commission meeting Wednesday, the idea of selling the county hospital — once an unthinkable prospect — isn’t verboten anymore. And if a lot more meetings are what it’s going to take to examine all the options, the meetings will happen.
That was the general consensus of county commissioners — who also constitute the UMC Board of Trustees — after presentations from Jim Miller, president/CEO of Renown Regional Medical Center and Dr. John “Jack” Ruckdeschel, director and CEO of the Nevada Cancer Institute.
In 1985, Washoe County sold its county-run hospital to Renown, so commissioners wanted to know if that blueprint might work for Clark County. There are big differences between UMC and Renown, however, not the least of which is that last year, UMC took a hit of roughly $70 million due to caring for those who can’t pay. Renown’s hit was about $5 million.
Ruckdeschel presented a positive outlook for the possibility of selling the hospital. He called it “not-for-profitization” if the county worked together with all the interested parties to be sure everyone had a hand in how it would be done.
Not everyone was buying that, however. Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani expressed reservations about selling, saying the hospital “isn’t broken,” it’s just that more communication is needed to make it work.
Even the name of the Clark County hospital was questioned. Commissioner Steve Sisolak noted that the tie between UMC and the state’s medical school, based in Reno, is weak, at best.
Kathy Silver, UMC’s chief executive officer, said the name was changed years ago as a “marketing strategy, plain and simple” because of the positive image afforded hospitals tied to universities.
The problem, said Sisolak, who previously served on the university system’s Board of Regents, is that the state of Nevada has never strongly supported the hospital or the school. Some of that was political, he said, the result of the ongoing north-south funding dispute.
The morning meeting was informational only.
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