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Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center plans to expand its psychiatric services with the addition of a $26 million behavioral health center to its main structure...The one-story, 80-bed center, which will be connected to the main hospital building at 9300 W. Sunset Road, is scheduled to begin construction this year...It is expected to open next year to "ease the chronic lack of space and add services to treat adolescents through senior patients, age 55 and over,"...The facility will serve patients with state-funded Medicaid, Medicare and all private insurance....About 120 staff members will work at the center, 92 of which will be new hires...The lack of Medicaid psych beds has led to overcrowded emergency rooms in our hospitals and delayed treatment for those in dire need...

Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center, a Valley Health System property, announced...that it has selected a new CEO...Jeremy Bradshaw, formerly chief operating officer of the 293-bed acute care facility, officially took the helm of the hospital Sunday...Bradshaw...will now oversee "all aspects of the hospital with a particular emphasis on strategic planning, business development, physician relations and value-based purchasing expectations, along with finance, human resources and daily operations...Bradshaw said his top priority...is patient care, and he also hopes to emphasize the important of the emergency department, as it’s often the first or only interaction people have with the hospital.

Donna Eom (PharmD candidate, Roseman University, College of Pharmacy) was this year’s recipient of the prestigious national United States Public Health Service Excellence in Public Health Pharmacy Award...Donna was recognized for her demonstrated commitment to public health and public health practice in the Greater Las Vegas Valley through her role as Student Alliance VP of Community Affairs...LT Scott Myers, PharmD, an Officer & Senior Clinical Pharmacist with the U.S. Public Health Service, traveled to the Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Pharmacy campus in order to present her with the award...Donna was specifically honored for exemplary service to public health through the organization and execution of over 50 public health screening events. Primarily targeted to the underserved populations of the Las Vegas Valley, Donna was the point person for helping to coordinate Student Alliance’s delivery of blood pressure screens, cholesterol screens and diabetic fingersticks, through coordination with public and private stakeholders.

A grant is nudging the nascent UNLV School of Medicine closer to its fundraising goals...The United Health Foundation has awarded the school a $3 million grant to develop educational programs and three planned community clinics...United Health Foundation’s grant will strengthen and support UNLV’s commitment to build a cutting-edge medical school that ensures quality health care in the community for generations to come...United Health Foundation was established by UnitedHealth Group, which includes Southwest Medical Associates...Robert McBeath, president and CEO of Southwest Medical Associates, said the company has been a big supporter of UNLV’s efforts to develop a medical school and would like to continue its relationship with the school...The partnerships are important because it brings the training of the medical students in line with the needs of the community...

The Las Vegas area tumbled 10 spots this year to land near the bottom of a list ranking the health and community fitness of the nation’s 50 most populated metropolitan areas...The ninth annual American Fitness Index, released...by the American College of Sports Medicine, ranks the area including Las Vegas, Henderson and Paradise as 41st overall...Researchers assessed each area’s health and fitness status by accounting for factors including self-reported exercise rates, the prevalence of health issues including obesity and diabetes, the presence of golf courses and swimming pools, investment into parks, and childhood physical education requirements...The Las Vegas area experienced the greatest drop on the list from last year to this year, falling from 31st place partly because of the area’s obesity and smoking rates...

Universal Health Services Inc., a subsidiary of which owns the Valley Health System, has announced that it will buy a third party’s minority ownership interests in its six Southern Nevada hospitals for $445 million...The King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based company announced...it would make the aggregate cash payment, which includes purchase price and return of capital, to a "third party" for ownership interests ranging from 26.1 to 27.5 percent...Valley Health System includes Centennial Hills Hospital Medical Center, Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center, Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center, Summerlin Hospital Medical Center, Valley Hospital Medical Center and the under-construction Henderson Hospital..."This transaction reflects our continued confidence in the performance of our hospitals in the Las Vegas market and, in particular, our enthusiasm for the opening of our newest hospital in Henderson, Nevada later this year," Universal Health Services CEO Alan Miller said in the statement.

Eddie Lee, DMD Class of ’17, was selected by his American Student Dental Association peers for the Legislative Liaison of the Year Award..."Roseman’s DMD program is producing leaders who are being recognized for their contributions to the profession and the public it serves," said William Harmon, College of Dental Medicine Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Services...The Legislative Liaison of the Year Award honors an outstanding legislative liaison for motivating and organizing his/her chapter in the legislative arena and getting the chapter involved in advocacy efforts and events...The award is presented at National Dental Student Lobby Day...held April 11 through April 12th in Washington, D.C. It was a chance for dental students to get involved in advocacy and help give a voice to the issues that they care about...meet with members of Congress and their staffs to impact policy decisions.

New medical schools are launching across the country to address a projected physician shortage. They’re promising innovative curriculums that let aspiring doctors spend time doing research, working in community health settings, and following the same patients for months...But they face big obstacles, starting with the challenge of recruiting students and faculty when they’re not yet accredited — and won’t be, even in the best-case scenario, for several years...An equally big challenge: raising the tens of millions it takes to build and then run a top-tier medical school...all in an effort to create a new breed of American doctor...What we’re doing is certainly a little bit risky…At the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, which is on track to launch its med school in the fall of 2017, student training will involve getting out of the hospital to work at a hospice, a home for developmentally delayed patients, or some other community organization. Plus, students will spend a year at an outpatient clinic where they can follow the same individuals over time, rather than jumping among different specialized clinics each month, as is often the case..."The students will actually get to know their own patients," said founding dean Dr. Barbara Atkinson...Massive fundraising campaigns and acceptance from the local community are needed...The financial urgency is even more pronounced at UNLV. Last year, Nevada legislators approved $27 million in startup funds — but that’s just a drop in the bucket of the full amount the university needs to get up and running..."We’re working hard to cultivate donors," said Atkinson...We’re very fortunate to be starting from scratch when we are...It would be virtually impossible to do what we’re doing at a school that’s already set in its ways...

The Southern Nevada Health District has added family planning to the list of services offered at its new headquarters...A family planning clinic, formerly located at the health district’s Shadow Lane campus, officially opened this week at the district’s 280 S. Decatur Blvd. Location..."Family planning and the availability of contraception are considered among the last century’s greatest public health accomplishments," district Chief Health Officer Dr. Joseph Iser said in the release. "The ability to plan a family and space pregnancies is a key aspect of women’s health care."

Pharmacy students at Roseman University are volunteering to help Nevada’s Medicare population learn more about their insurance coverage, and a new grant is expected to boost their efforts...The students, who have been trained through the Nevada State Health Insurance Assistance Program, operate the school’s Medicare Call Lab, answering questions from Medicare participants and their families about insurance plans, prescription coverage and possible state and federal assistance eligibility...A $50,000 award through grant competition NobleCause will be distributed this month, allowing the lab to purchase tablets, dividers to separate students’ workstations and dual headsets to speed up training. It’ll also fund contract work with SHIP to have those counselors work more with students...Every call is a new experience because everybody has different issues, and they have different problems...Roseman’s Medicare Call Lab can be reached at 702-968-6615 or by email at medicare@roseman.edu.