LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — As Las Vegas continues to grow, our military is helping to answer the demand for medical help in our rapidly growing community.
Nellis Air Force Base just finished an expansion for the Mike O’Callaghan Military Medical Center and it is open to any critical care patients, even those outside of the military.
The military medical center’s expansion is now complete and, as the population of the Las Vegas Valley continues to grow, civilians can get treated here.
“This is an under-served area, the northeast,” said Jeremy Kilburn, a pulmonary critical care physician stationed on Nellis Air Force Base. “There’s not real hospital assets up here. And so the Air Force looked at that and said, ‘How can we align our mission with the mission of Las Vegas?'”
This $50 million expansion is the only Air Force medical treatment facility caring for civilian EMS patients as part of its medical readiness mission, which is to create combat-ready medics through service to the community.
“We’ll see how it goes from there,” he said. “With the Las Vegas population, you never know. But our commitment is rock solid. This is a partnership that the DOD, DHA, the Air Force is going to continue to grow with.”
If you combine all the beds in its critical care unit, multi-service unit, and emergency room, the MOMMC has 64 beds. And the plan is to boost that number to 120 in the next three years.
“We’re looking forward to accepting more civilian patients in trauma as we pursue trauma designation over the next several months,” said Kilburn. “And then, as we look at expanding our stroke capabilities, our heart attack capabilities, we’re really looking to grow to be able to fill this niche in the northeast section of Las Vegas.”
It is important to note that the only way for civilians to utilize this emergency room is if they are brought here by an ambulance.
