LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas leaders are looking for ways to improve healthcare in Nevada. That includes investing in the Las Vegas Medical District.
On Wednesday, city council leaders heard a report from the city's economic and urban development department.
The medical district was established in 1997 and was originally 214 acres. However, it has expanded over the years to now include 674 acres. According to the economic department, since 2018, over $400 million has been invested in the Las Vegas Medical District, including both public and private funds, and that over time, it will pay for itself.
"The economic impact by 2040 is going to be $3.6 billion if we continue down this path of investment in healthcare," said economic development manager Tammy Christensen. "Also, 12,185 new, high-paying jobs will be created by then. That's a conservative number."
Healthcare has been an issue that has plagued the valley for decades. According to Mental Health America, Nevada is still ranked 50th in the United States when it comes to adults seeking mental health care. When looking at America's Health Rankings, Nevada is 46th in overall care, 46th in access to care, 45th in patients not seeking medical care due to costs, and 50th in terms of available primary care provideres. Here in Southern Nevada, city economists state that county health rankings show there are almost 35% more people per primary care physician than the national average.
When looking at valley statistics from 2021, city economists said there are several gaps in health care and ranked them in order of priority.
According to senior economic development specialist Tabitha Pederson, there are challenges facing the Las Vegas Medical District that city leaders are trying to address.
"It's really challenging to recruit new physicians for a number of reasons," Peterson said. "Construction, while incredibly necessary and will made the medical district a brighter and more beautiful place to be, is causing the perception that getting to the medical district is challenging. Some of our local providers are also scattering and moving to more affluent communities in the valley."
She adds other issues are small parcels of land, which are hard to develop and limited parking. According to city officials, one thing physicians are asking for is more resources where they can do biomedical research. Because of this research, city economists said they're creating a bio health sciences steering committee. That committee will also be made up of physicians that already research and practice in the valley.
"They know our challenges and opportunities and can help us develop a comprehensive plan of action," Pederson said.
Mayor Pro Tem Brian Knudsen said he thinks there are two goals that could require the city's engagement that could help meet those needs.
"Two very important goals, and this comes from a very strategic investment from the city and the state of Nevada is the development of a public health lab with the potential for a bio health research space," Knudsen said. "And then, we have that G2 capital, which is a partnership between the university, the City of Las Vegas, and a private, separate partner. Between of those buildings, we'll have a couple hundred thousand square feet of medical office space and potential health lab research space."
Mayor Carolyn Goodman said the time for presentations, meetings, and consultations is over and that something needs to be done in order to fix the issue since "we're almost in a desperate situation."
"It's been 23 years with no action and results and we still have not gotten ourselves competitive in either the fight against private research or in Medicaid reimbursement. You cannot establish a solid medical community without doctors and support staff and technology and money," Goodman said. "Just this morning, I heard that the wait to get into a dermatologist, they're three months out. We can't have this anymore. All the meetings and all the consultants that we continue to have, I'd love to see a timeline of specific, achievable, first-step goals and what results we're looking to achieve on a timeline. If not, a long time after I'm gone, another group of people will be sitting here discussing the same thing."
