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Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor, Dan Klaich, from left, County Commission chairman Rory Reid, former chancellor Jim Rogers, board of regents chairman James Dean Leavitt and commissioner Steve Sisolak announce plans to transform UMC Hospital into public-private teaching hospital, during a press conference at the Government Center in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Jan. 13.
Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010 | 2 a.m.
Lawrence Weekly
Sun Archives
- Dose of Rogers for ailing UMC (1-14-2010)
- Rory Reid announces effort to make UMC a teaching hospital (1-13-2010)
- Why troubled UMC is in County Commission chairman’s sights (1-5-2010)
Why wasn’t Commissioner Lawrence Weekly at the help-is-on-the-way-for-UMC news conference Wednesday? Isn’t he the commissioner who is chairman of the county hospital’s board of trustees?
Yes, he is chairman of that board and has been for more than a year. So when County Commission Chairman Rory Reid announced that Jim Rogers volunteered to head up an effort to find top-tier medical organizations to partner with University Medical Center to turn it into a true teaching hospital, Weekly’s absence was conspicuous. The state’s higher education chancellor was there. The chairman of the Board of Regents was there. Commissioner Steve Sisolak was there. And yet the chairman of the hospital’s board was not.
Why not?
Weekly said he was asked to attend the news conference, but it had been scheduled so quickly he could not get out of a prior commitment. He also said he had been invited to a meeting beforehand where the idea of Rogers coming in to take the reins was discussed, but also had a prior engagement.
So is UMC important to Weekly or not?
Weekly has a story to explain his dedication to the hospital. A few years ago, when he was still a Las Vegas city councilman, his daughter broke her thigh bone at a school playground. Weekly took her to UMC — and they waited 6 1/2 hours before anyone helped them.
“I was so emotionally distraught. I’m sitting there looking at my baby,” he said. “The paramedic even tried to get us help and it didn’t work.”
Perhaps the worst part was that help only came after he was recognized, he said. He overheard a UMC staffer say, “I think he’s a city councilman.” Then he was asked if he was, to which he replied: “What the hell does that matter?”
“The next thing you know, they rushed her into emergency surgery. At the time, I said I would never go back there again.”
But after Gov. Jim Gibbons appointed Weekly to the Clark County Commission, his fellow commissioners appointed him to lead the UMC board.
“After a lot of prayer,” Weekly said, “I went back (to the hospital) ... and I met some of the best men and women on Earth working there.”
And his feelings about what’s going on?
Weekly said he’s happy that movement is taking place, that people are talking, and he thinks Rogers is a “great resource.” At the same time, he admits frustration that the board hasn’t been allowed more time to discuss the possible changes. In November, it decided it was going to form committees to look closely at several options, including putting together a permanent hospital board — not made up of county commissioners — to oversee hospital operations.
The concern is that UMC’s financial problems are growing. In the current fiscal year, Clark County taxpayers will subsidize operations with about $140 million.
Suddenly two weeks ago, Reid pushed the County Commission to move toward transferring the hospital to a nonprofit organization or tying it more closely to the university system. Weekly and Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani voted against it. A week later came the Rogers announcement.
Weekly worries things are happening too fast and without enough input from commissioners, who are ultimately held responsible for whatever goes right or wrong at the hospital.
•••
The county commissioner who has been the most openly critical of the $200,000 average annual salary and benefits enjoyed by county firefighters is getting threatening phone calls.
Which commissioner, and what exactly is going on?
Sisolak is getting phone calls from blocked phone numbers from men who say things like “you better watch your back” and “you better hope your house doesn’t catch on fire.”
“I guess I’ve become sort of the poster child for the ire of some firefighters,” he said.
But, Sisolak added he still thinks most firefighters appreciate the commissioners’ need to start being better stewards of the public’s money.
Commissioner Weekly was probably out on tour telling the world how he supports Harry Reid, regardless of what comes out of Harry's mouth. The group in the picture looks like a bunch of thugs working for Rory. They dont even have the respect to wear a suit or at least a tie. Sisolak is wearing jeans. I guess he feels as though he is above appreciating the office and feels as though he is entitled to it. Quit screwing around with the livelihood of clark county. Do something for the legal citizens for once. VOTE OUT THE INCUMBENTS!!!
Here's the political analysis:
1. Rory Reid is trying to distance himself from his record as the Chairman of the Clark County Commission.
2. The Sun is aiding and abetting Rory by running "stories" that unfairly smear current UMC management.
3. The supposed inept management is the impetus for Rory to ride in on his white steed and save the day, thus scoring him the political points he needs in his campaign for Governor.
4. With the exception of Steve Sisolak, Rory's fellow commissioners are upset that Rory is acting unilaterally on UMC.
5. Now, the Sun is running this story to "call out" Commissioner Weekly, who along with Chris Giunchigliani, is opposed to Rory's efforts to take UMC private.
6. Following this effort to smear and embarrass Commissioner Weekly, the other commissioners will want to avoid the same and will go along with whatever Rory proposes. Rory loses nothing by going after Commissioner Weekly because he did not have Weekly's support anyway.
Just more evidence that Rory's campaign and the Sun are coordinating stories to assist Rory in his run for Governor. Yellow journalism is alive and well in Las Vegas.
I have to agree with some of the comments on this board. This was totally a cheap shot at using the liberal press, the Sun, to unfairly damn Mr. Brown who is the primary POC on the Clark County Commission in relationship to UMC!
Rory Reid, who has had the responsibility for many years to take care of this problem now only surfaces to take actions for his inactions, now because he has an ulterior motive!
His motive is to mislead the voters of Nevada to believe that he is: one, ethical (LOL); two, conservative with taxpayer monies (LOL LOL); three, is cut from the same cloth as his father (LOL, LOL, LOL); fourth, that he is the best choice to become the governor of Nevada, even though he was a complete waste during his several years as the Clark County Commission Chair and has allowed for corruption to become rampant in the Clark County Commission and in the entire Clark County government (LOL, LOL, LOL, LOL, LOL, LOL)!
The problem with UMC is not going to go away by trying to dump this problem onto some other agency!
Rory Reid, simply doesn't get it!
He had the chance to affect change and he was impotent in doing so!
To even imagine him in a higher level of government is an insult to the intelligence of the Nevada voters!
So with the Commissioner Brown being absent from the event shows the contempt that Reid has towards him and perhaps it is deserved, but to use the printed media to try to score points is down right nasty politics and thanks to the Sun for aiding the conception many have here in Clark County about the lack of ethics in government particularly with the Reids!
If I ever was involved in a wreck in front of UMC, I absolutely would not allow anybody there to treat me. Maybe Jim Rogers is the the one that can get this facility onto its right track. He will take no prisoners, I am almost certain!!!
Yes, if you want a crazed lunatic running through the halls yelling and screaming about this and that....Rogers is your man.
Rogers game plan (like the higher ed plan)
Step 1: Run off and embarrass the current staff.
Step 2: Replace with complete morons.
Step 3: Send out 1 million emails on various topics.
Step 4: Fund a slime campaign against people that you want removed from office.
Step 5: Run off and embarrass the complete morons.
Weekly wasn't there because he is not qualified to be chairman of that committee and he might be starting to realize it. I found it astounding that when the patient privacy leak hit the paper, he said he did not realize it was against the law to leak patient information.
I'd just like to say that there are a large number of very dedicated medical professionals and support staff that work very hard at UMC on a day to day basis. Making blanket statements, stating how bad UMC is, etc is wrong. There isn't one hospital in the entire nation that can honestly say that they are perfect. The Trauma and Burn Care units both perform miracles on a regular basis. We save lives and we do a darn good job of it. I'd love to hear from some of you that have been amazed by the care that you've received from us. I know that you are out there, because you and your families thank us on a daily basis. It's great that you thank us, and we really appreciate it, however, please speak out and tell everyone how good we are and what we've done to improve your life or the life of your loved ones.