Category:

There is a new place in town to help women stay on top of their breast health. The Summit Surgery Center at Saint Mary's Galena now houses a one-stop shop for wellness and preventative care...Along with 3-D mammography, "We also have ultrasound technique, MRI, CT scanners. So, this is the area women would come for the preventative diagnostic measures,” explains Medical Director Dr. Shelli Tiller…We want to have preventative medicine for people, but if you get to the point where something goes wrong and you have to go to the surgical side of things - that's where my portion comes in." From biopsies to outpatient surgery....

A jury...convicted Binh "Ben" Chung, a Las Vegas doctor accused of drugging and raping patients, of sexual assault and kidnapping charges...Prosecutors claimed Chung, 43, had videotaped sex acts with three unconscious women and a teenage girl who also had been drugged...Chung told jurors that he had an ongoing consensual affair with one of the women, and that she was awake in the videos jurors watched, playing a role in his "Sleeping Beauty" fantasy...He said he had somnophilia, a fetish for having sex with someone who is unconscious. He also testified that the teenager prosecutors said he molested in another video was actually the woman with whom he claimed he had an affair...Jurors deliberated the case for more than eight hours, including roughly four hours Friday, before convicting Chung of 11 of the 14 counts, including use of a minor in the production of pornography, kidnapping, battery with intent to commit sexual assault, and four counts of sexual assault...

Governor Brian Sandoval's Office announced...that the state will receive a grant of more than $5.6 million to help combat opioid addiction...Nevada has received notice from United States Health and Human Services Secretary...Nevada will receive a $5,663,328 grant to combat opioid addiction. The funding, which is the first of two rounds provided for the 21st Century Cures Act, will be provided through the State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis Grants administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration…“I would like to thank the Trump Administration, specifically Secretary Price and the members of our federal delegation who supported the 21st Century Cures Act. This funding will provide significant resources aimed at combating the opioid crisis, a sweeping epidemic which is hurting families across Nevada and our nation,” said Governor Brian Sandoval. “Nevada is committed to working collaboratively with medical professionals, stakeholders, and community advocates as we continue to tackle the significant health, social and economic consequences of prescription drug abuse.”

Las Vegas health officials are turning a familiar piece of equipment — the vending machine — into a first-in-the-nation experiment to automate the dispensing of clean needles for intravenous drug users...The program is a joint effort between the Southern Nevada Health District, the Nevada AIDS Research and Education Society and Trac-B Exchange, which developed the machine. The idea is that making clean needles and other gear available will reduce the spread of bloodborne infections among drug users who would otherwise share the injection rigs…materials for the program were funded by private donations...Having access to clean syringes is a harm-reduction approach that’s going to allow people to protect themselves against getting communicable diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C...The machines...will distribute cardboard boxes containing clean syringes and disposal containers for used needles. They will also offer kits for wound cleaning and safe sex. Users will have to register first to receive a swipe card and unique identification number that they can use to receive up to two kits per week...Machines will be available by the end of May at Trac-B Exchange, 6114 W. Charleston Blvd.; Aid For AIDS Nevada, 1120 Almond Tree Lane; and the Community Counseling Center, 714 E. Sahara Ave.

Eldorado Resorts Properties teamed up with Activate Healthcare to open a family medical center inside the Circus Circus on the corner of Sixth and West Streets (Reno)...All full-time employees of the Eldorado, Silver Legacy and Circus Circus can pop in to see a doctor for general health care needs. The nearly 4,500 square-foot clinic includes three exam rooms, a pharmacy and patient resource center. Patients will not have to wait weeks to see a doctor either; they are guaranteed an appointment within 24-hours. "We’re trying to get people out of the emergency rooms and into their primary physicians which will create a healthier environment, which will be a healthier employee, which will be a healthier family and community,” explains Cindy Carano, the Executive Director of Community Relations for Eldorado Resorts, Inc.

A bid in Nevada to force America’s three insulin manufacturers to turn over information on the...prices of...hormone treatment for people with diabetes advanced with bipartisan support...The Democratic (Democrat) proposal has transitioned from a first-of-its-kind price control to a measure focused on pricing transparency...it retains what would be some of the toughest regulations on pharmaceutical companies in the nation...It would require drugmakers to annually publish the list prices they set and profits they make on insulin, as well as the total amount of insulin discounts they give market middlemen — specific data points currently largely kept confidential...Some pharmaceutical companies, including insulin-maker Sanofi SA, have voluntarily released recent data on their price increases...Market experts say transparency alone won’t lower patient costs...

Aiming to rein in soaring prescription drug prices, an unlikely Nevada coalition is trying to force pharmaceutical companies to disclose how they set insulin prices - and issue refunds to diabetics or their insurance companies if annual price hikes surpass inflation...Las Vegas casino owners have banded together with their employees' unions of cooks, servers and other resort workers to support the unprecedented legislation in their effort to control their own medical insurance costs...The bill expected to face its first vote in early May would attempt to cap how much employers, insurers and corporate middle men pay for insulin...Lawmakers also hope the bill would cap what diabetics pay out of their own pockets near their current cost levels - typically between $50 and $600 per month, depending on diabetics' insurance coverage...It remains far from clear that the bill, if passed, would survive legal challenges or have the intended effect. But it would make Nevada the first U.S. state to force detailed release of drugmakers' proprietary information and effectively establish a price control on prescription drugs via the refund plan...

The Nevada Senate, after emotional floor debate, approved a bill...allowing terminally ill patients to request life-ending medication from their physicians...Senate Bill 261 passed on an 11-10 vote and now goes to the Assembly...Supporters said it would provide the sick and dying the right to end their suffering at a time of their own choosing...Sen. Ben Kieckhefer, R-Reno, was a sponsor of the bill but voted against it. Kieckhefer said he became "increasingly uncomfortable" with the bill and what he called a "significant lack of clarity."..."I don’t necessarily trust doctors to tell me when I’m going to die,"...He also shared concerns raised by critics that the sick, frail and disabled could be pressured to end their lives by family members or caregivers...Under the measure, mentally competent patients over the age of 18 could request a prescription for life-ending drugs. Two doctors would have to confirm the terminal diagnosis and a life expectancy of six months of less. Doctors, pharmacists and health care facilities would not have to participate...

Nevada lands at the bottom of a list, this time ranking the best and worst states for children’s health care...The state finished No. 51 in research by WalletHub, a credit services website. The findings continue a long, depressing tradition for Nevada, which is no stranger to performing poorly in measures of health. However, valley health care professionals say they’re optimistic that medical services for kids are improving in the state, even if it’s happening more slowly than anybody would like...Experts say Nevada’s challenges range from a relative dearth of pediatricians and family care physicians to a transience among residents that can make obtaining regular preventive care for kids a back-burner task...Nevada has the fewest number of physicians per capita in the United States...This has posed a significant challenge to our community in having access to care or preventive care...As a result, the emergency rooms in Las Vegas as well as the state serve in many ways as the sole access to care...So patients utilize emergency rooms for nonemergent care and to receive care that they’d normally receive in a pediatrician’s office or an internist’s office...

Key lawmakers building the state's next budget rejected more than half of the cuts Gov. Brian Sandoval proposed to mental health services in Northern Nevada...The sub-committee in charge of reviewing and altering Sandoval's mental health budget restored nearly $5.5 million when it "closed" the budget for Northern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services...Sandoval had proposed cutting $10.1 million from the mental health agency, arguing that demand for state services are dropping as more Nevadans obtain coverage through Medicaid that allows them to access private health care providers. Sandoval's budget includes increased funding for Medicaid...lawmakers weren't convinced that those with a mental illness are able to access adequate care in the private market, especially as Congress works to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which provides expanded Medicaid coverage...lawmakers refused to:

• Close the 10-bed rapid stabilization unit at the Dini-Townsend Psychiatric Hospital, restoring $3.7 million to the budget;
• Slash $1.2 million in funding to provide services to severely mentally ill patients who are "treatment resistant";
• Eliminate outpatient counseling services at NNAMHS, restoring $367,217 to the budget;