Area would benefit from a med school

Dr. Leonard Kreisler, Las Vegas

Tuesday, April 2, 2013 | 2:01 a.m.

I’ve been in Southern Nevada since 1973, and I have been in health care for more than 50 years. I was chief of staff at UMC in 1982-83 and was instrumental in changing the name of the hospital to UMC, founding its first foundation and bringing in the annual children’s telethon.

I did extensive research on our state medical school for a book I wrote. I have the knowledge and experience to state that Dr. Mark Doubrava, who wants to see a medical school at UNLV, speaks correctly about having a medical school in Southern Nevada. He is looking at what’s best for the 2 million Southern Nevada residents, as opposed to the special interests of the Reno-controlled University of Nevada School of Medicine and the special interests of the privately run Touro University medical school.

From my 40 years of experience, I know that philanthropic money will pour into a UNLV medical school, just like it’s doing at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. That money will never be realized for our Reno-controlled medical school (annual tuition of about $22,000), and certainly not for the private osteopathic school (annual tuition of about $47,000). I’d welcome a public forum for the idea of a UNLV medical school.