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Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor Dan Klaich, left, and former chancellor, Jim Rogers, right, listen as County Commission Chairman Rory Reid announces a plans to transform UMC into public-private teaching hospital during a news conference at the Government Center in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010.
Published Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010 | 9:06 a.m.
Updated Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010 | 1:30 p.m.
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Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid announced this morning a plan that includes former University Chancellor Jim Rogers to transform University Medical Center into a public-private teaching hospital.
Reid's announcement will transform UMC into a "top-flight teaching hospital," he said. Rogers will lead an effort to look at successful models around the country that will include members of the education and medical communities, and the private sector.
“No one in the state of Nevada has a greater passion for education than Jim Rogers,” Reid said in a statement. “He is also a tenacious advocate for building our state’s health care system and creating economic opportunity. We have before us a chance to bring all of those elements together in a world-class teaching hospital. I can’t think of a better person to lead this effort, and I’m so excited that he’s stepped up as a partner.”
Reid said converting UMC to a teaching hospital has advantages, including improved quality of care, stronger fundraising capabilities and advanced medical research.
Reid last week called for Clark County to unload UMC after a string of scandals and mismanagement at the public hospital.
During a Jan. 4 news conference, he called for UMC to be turned into a nonprofit or teaching hospital or some other financially viable model, and for an examination of UMC’s quality of care.
His proposals come after a string of embarrassments at UMC dating back to January 2007.
In November, the Sun reported that private information about accident victims treated at UMC had apparently been being leaked to ambulance-chasing attorneys for months.
UMC now faces a federal lawsuit for forcing a 25-year-old pregnant woman, Roshunda Abney, to wait more than five hours without treatment Nov. 30 while going through labor in its emergency room.
so why does rory reid wait until it is an election year to try to fix umc??? why did he not do it several years ago???
TOO LITTLE TOO LATE!!!
GOODBYE REID CLAN....YOU BOTH WILL SOON BE OUT OF OFFICE....
Nevada will do much better when the Reid's are run back to searchlight!Go's to show you that the apple dosent fall far from the tree.Then it may be a good idea to look at political coruption charge's against the elder for buying votes!!!
Rory Reid's oversight and handling of UMC has been dismal. He has to go. He's just NOT a leader, period!
Perhaps UMC is going to give him a neck transplant.
UMC a teaching hospital? Don't you need a good university and a half-way decent medical college?
Rory, why not build your teaching hospital at Coyote Springs?
You remember your great idea on 93 near Alamo? You know THAT one!
Nothing trump a bad idea like a terrible one!
It's rotten to the core. Just shut it down!
This is the same plan that Reid, Jr rejected a few years ago.
Hmmmmm....at least he is starting to grow up.
Interesting reading on RR: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news...
Marginal medical school, marginal medical and surgical residencies, should make for a great teaching hospital. Maybe Harry Ried could run it once he is unemployed in November.
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It would be wonderful to make such a transformation of UMC. It would be great and let us hope that it happens. There is a problem though in doing this. The problem is that a competent teaching hospital requires cutting edge science. Unfortunatly for Las Vegas the mindset of a cutting edge scientist does not mix well with the environment created by the gamming industry and the politicians who serve it. The stark ugliness of the city and the extreme lack of education and culture and high crime will eliminate any decent life scientist from relocating here. Las Vegas can not compete with all of the beautiful and elegant campuses due to the overpopulation and uncontrolled growth that have created our vast stucco ghetos. Let us have a teaching hospital but selling it as top flight is the same delusion as our local cancer center claiming they are looking to cure cancer. Most telling to this experienced cancer researcher as I looked at the Nevada Cancer Centers job page wishing there were research jobs there was an ad for a " Physicians Concierge". That about sums up the local mindset...using the good hope of science and medicine as a phony marketing tool to make tons of money for routine treatment.
Well, I'm just glad to see such a cerebral discussion on the subject of UMC by our fellow commenters. It's so refreshing to see such depth of thought, open-mindedness and respect for your fellow man. It just gives one such hope for a brighter day! You kids sure love that Rory!
The Sun's narrative on this series of stories is embarrassing, or should be, even for the Sun. Rory has two major negatives going into this campaign -- his Reid name, and what has occurred on his watch as County Commissioner. While nothing can be done to remedy the name, the Sun is attempting to aid and abet Rory in his attempt to distance himself from his record.
Working hand in hand with Rory's campaign, the Sun wants to make it appear that hospital management is the sole cause of issues at UMC, and that Rory is riding in on his white steed to save the day. To that end, the Sun stooped to new lows when it attempted to tarnish current UMC management last week by resurrecting incidents which occurred under previous management (and conspicuously while Rory was Chairman of the County Commission).
The common element for the several UMC administrations for the past seven years is its Board Member/Chairman of the Board, Rory Reid. By the same evaluation the Sun has applied to UMC's current administration, Rory must not be very good at his job of overseeing the hospital, or else things would have been fixed some time ago.
By the way--only in a politician's world could one propose a top flight teaching hospital while only providing the hospital third-rate funding. Unless the County and the Nevada university system significantly increase funding, UMC this political pipe dream cannot become a reality.
Good luck trying to distance Rory from history!
Reid is as much responsible for this monstrosity as anybody else in this town.
Best thing for us right now is to keep his grubby hands off till he's out of office.
"A teaching Hospital"? Good idea! Who's going to teach UMC?
There sure are a lot of Rory Reid haters out there. Contrary to what people think, Jim Rogers did more to bring the higher education institutions into line than anyone ever did.
He made the schools get along and work together. At least Reid and Rogers have an idea, it is more than I can say for all of the "haters" out there.
The idea that is a non-idea. Rory is essentially asking the state and private sector to bail out the UMC boondoggle, which means he wants to spread the pain from Clark County to the rest of the state. Not original, since I think Washoe already did this. But give him points for PR. His whole vision thing was a hackneyed launch and now this is what he passes off as policy innovation. (BTW, anybody actually look at that "new vision" logo he used when he launched his campaign? look familiar? that's right, like every other government logo in southern Nevada -- way to go, Mr. New Vision Reid!)
UMC is broken for the same reason the American economic system is broken. Less revenue than expenses. No rationale nexus between who gets served what, and who pays. For all their worldly wisdom, the bright lights of the political world have never learned the second law of thermodynamics -- you cannot create or destroy matter in a closed system. In an economic system as broken as UMC, the path to stability is through increased taxes, reduced expenses or (short-term) by passing the bill down the line. This is passing the bill down the line. Among its other customers, UMC serves undocumented workers, the indigent and the subsidized public-employee bureacracies of Southern Nevada. It is staffed with political cronies and low-end juice hires. I'm sorry, folks, but you can't get to a balanced budget with that and the brainiacs on the Clark County Commission know it. So Rory pulls Mr. Rogers out of his hat and says "let Jim, the private sector and the state fix it." Good luck...we all saw what a genius Rogers was at UNLV. If this guy hadn't fallen into a media fortune by being in the right place at the right time, he'd be obsessively washing the floors of some non-descript office building as part of its contract janitorial service. But at least Rogers shows what kind of governor Rory will be -- more of the same by a different name. Folks, get ready to bend over, hold your ankles, and take a deep breath!
"UMC a teaching hospital? Don't you need a good university and a half-way decent medical college?"
For the record, the University of Nevada School of Medicine has at least one great faculty member, C. Baranagan, MD, who teaches adolescent pediatric medicine here in Las Vegas.
My generally-doctor-hating-daughter has Dr. B as her physician, and thinks she's great!
HOLD ON
UMC IS A TEACHING FACIILITY, WHAT THE HELL IS HE TRYING TO PULL HERE. ANOTHER PASS THE BUCK CRAP.
I want to hear on what salary cuts they are taking, I want to see actions not bs blowing smoke screens up to confuse the general public.
Enough, I can not wait till elections, they are all gone.
Pressure must have been to great for Reed to move forward on..... "oh dont take my job".... while everyone else suffers, you greedy sob's may you rot in hell
A teaching hospital opens up all sorts of possibilities. Rory, SEIU, and Acorn can teach the indigent and undocumented how to get free health care. "Shovel Ready" Harry can teach a course on how to bribe legislators to pass problematic health care legislation.
Yeah, ivegotcha, that's what I thought and that's what UMC's own website says. It already IS a teaching hospital. Why doesn't the Sun find out what this is all about?
I'm just curious,
Does this mean that anyone who happens to show up on their doorstep does not have to be treated for free?
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You might want to look into the work that he University of North Texas is doing in Ft. Worth. This is a high growth area, and fairly new in associates and partnerships.
Would it not make more sense to bring in a good SCIENTIST to lead the efforts directed at buiding a teaching hospital. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the leadership on the shoulders of someone who, in addition to running the institution, was also capable and willing to teach there or capable of doing basic disease research? The "old boy" network seems to have a serious case of senile dementia as well as chronic and total loss of vision.
All hospitals should be teaching! If not, they become procedural, robotic, manufactured; places where you go in sick and hope for the best.
This is a good idea. I support Reid on this.
UMC needs to fix their patient info privacy though STAT.
Green Party candidate for Governor NV
Ivegotcha, I don't think any body read your comment. So I will say it again UMC IS ALREADY A TEACHING FACILITY.
Bradgore,
Excellent points above. I hope no one will be under the impression that this hospital will become a great hospital overnight. We need to get Reid and local government away from the building. UMC needs new leadership that understands what a great hospital looks like.
How can anyone look at him and not want to slap the sissy out of him?
UMC needs to become part of a University Law School so it can defend all the lawsuits for free. Good experience too for the students.
Ok Rory nap time is over,, you can wake up now...The best thing that could be done is to close that place down,, bulldoze and clear the land,, then sell it and recoup something from the money pit of clark county....This guy doesnt even have a clue what the hell he is doing...Yea looked good in dreamland,, but not in reality....