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Las Vegas City Council narrowly passed a resolution Wednesday supporting the addition of a designated trauma center at Centennial Hills Hospital Medical Center, drawing criticism from the company that operates the other applicant hospitals...Centennial Hills, part of the Valley Health System, is one of three applicants being considered for designation as a Level 3 trauma center by the Southern Nevada Health District Board of Health, which meets March 24...MountainView Hospital and Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center, owned by the Hospital Corporation of America, are the other two applicants. Level 3 is the lowest level of designated trauma center recognized by the Southern Nevada Trauma System...Though the City Council isn’t involved in designations, Councilman Bob Beers, who leads the Board of Health, brought the resolution before the council for a vote of symbolic support.

The Nevada Board of Medical Examiners had a backlog of 525 complaints at the start of 2015. An additional 1,078 complaints were filed last year...By the end of the year, 570 complaints were pending...only 19 medical doctors and physician assistants were publicly disciplined last year...How can a board that's falling behind ever erase that backlog and fulfill its duty to discipline bad medical doctors?...Executive Director Edward Cousineau said Wednesday that the office is making headway and that the situation not as bleak as the numbers suggest...

A board composed partially of representatives from local trauma centers recommended not designating any of three new applicants as a Level 3 trauma center...The Regional Trauma Advisory Board, which makes a recommendation to the Southern Nevada Health District Board of Health on trauma center applications, voted to reject approval of authorization for the Level 3 trauma centers sought by Centennial Hills Hospital Medical Center, Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center and Mountain View Hospital...The hospitals applied in the fall to receive Level 3 designation, the lowest trauma designation recognized by the Southern Nevada Trauma System. Level 3 centers provide "definitive care to the less severely injured patients" and work to support any Level 1 and 2 facilities in the trauma system, which can provide care to more severely injured patients...UMC Department of Trauma Services Medical Director John Fildes...suggested the formation of a needs-based assessment task force, which would review the community's trauma needs and assess the impact of adding new trauma centers in the future. He suggested all three applicants be invited to become part of the task force.

Reported syphilis cases in Clark County have skyrocketed 128 percent since 2012, with the number of early syphilis cases reported constituting an outbreak, according to the Southern Nevada Health District...The health district said in a news release Wednesday morning the increase has largely affected men and is asking health care providers who treat early syphilis patients to report cases to the district..."We are considering this an outbreak because disease rates in our community are continuing to climb and we see no plateau at this point," health district Chief Health Officer Dr. Joe Iser said…"Our goal is to make people aware of the problem, encourage health care providers — especially those who treat men — to report cases to us so we can begin notifying partners, get them into treatment, and stop the spread,"...

Devices like C-PAP machines or oxygen tanks are commonplace in some households. Often, patients leave the hospital and are told they need a medical device to help them throughout the home. That's where occupational therapist Leslie Sargent comes into play. She used to visit homes to make sure the patient was safe..."When I was working in home health, a lot of them couldn't afford the equipment at that time," says Sargent...Such practices...are only going to become more common in Nevada after a medical devices tax went into effect in January 2016. Essentially a sales tax, patients are now being taxed on devices that can be used on newborns all the way to hospice patients... Doug Bennett, Chair of the Board of Bennett Medical Services...along with 35 others statewide, is circulating a petition to have voters decide on the medical devices tax in November 2016. He says they are already halfway through getting the required signatures they need to get the measure on the ballot...If it ends up on the 2016 November ballot, and passes, voters will have to approve it again in 2018.

Roseman’s College of Nursing (Roseman University) recently expanded its offering of nursing degree programs with the creation of a 9-month RN to BSN program. The program is designed for nurses with an associate’s degree who desire a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree...the...new...program is structured to support working nurses in completing their baccalaureate nursing education while continuing their day-to-day responsibilities...The RN to BSN program offers nurses the opportunity to expand their clinical and theoretical skills and knowledge so they are better positioned to advance in the profession...Roseman University utilizes a block curriculum where students take only one class at a time, focus intently on that content area, and master the content before proceeding to the next block or course. The RN to BSN program consists of eight blocks each taught online by expert faculty with a myriad of clinical, educational and professional backgrounds. The program also includes two one-week, on-campus residencies in Henderson...

Nevada's Office of Vital Statistics issued a call this month for relevant physicians to sign up as quickly as possible for a system that allows doctors to fill in required information for death certificates electronically. That system became mandatory statewide Jan. 1...Some doctors did not sign up after the state began notifying them of the change in fall because they have had issues registering or have outright refused to participate, vital records program officer Jason Lewis said...Karen Massey, chief administrative officer at Northern Nevada Emergency Physicians, said physicians have struggled with some requirements of the system, including its incompatibility with Windows 10 and Apple computers. The changeover has been time-consuming...I'm dismayed when it sounds like physicians haven't been responsive about it...Physicians have raised several concerns and have been working with the state to get them resolved...

...for some low-income people, having transportation to a medical facility to receive treatment has been a major obstacle. So Southwest Medical Associates, in partnership with Health Plan of Nevada and Sierra Health and Life, revisited the idea of taking medical professionals to the people..."Medicine on the Move," and it's a 45-foot state-of-the-art mobile medical center built on a custom-designed Peterbilt truck frame. It is scheduled to hit the road sometime in mid-May with the primary objective of serving Medicaid patients at homeless shelters, churches, community centers and some businesses whose employees are enrolled in Health Plan of Nevada or Sierra Health and Life medical benefit plans...The mobile medical center is equipped with seemingly everything, and in many cases, much more than what one would find in his or her own doctor's office. The radiology suite features a digital mammography unit, portable ultrasound machine, X-ray unit and four refrigerators and a freezer for storing vaccines. Patients entering the mobile facility will be able to sit in a comfortable spa-like lobby before being taken to one of two private exam rooms...The onboard staff will consist of two medical assistants, two licensed nurse practitioners and one or two providers/doctors as needed, and a radiology technician...Annual physicals, immunization shots, OB/GYN exams, lab tests, pediatric care and wellness appointments will be offered..."As a native Nevadan, I've witnessed the changes and challenges we've faced over the years with health care in Southern Nevada," McBeath (Dr. Robert McBeath) said. "And I believe that this partnership with Health Plan of Nevada and Sierra Health and Life will help us to close the gap and improve access to quality health care in our community."...

New master’s will help grow number of healthcare professionals...As our community prepares for significant population growth...the University of Nevada School of Medicine and Renown Health are continuously working together to combat the shortage of healthcare providers in our region...latest effort will be seen in 2017 with the start of a new Master of Physician Assistant program. Renown Health will be an integral partner...committing $500,000 to help kick-start the program as well as providing the expertise of Renown providers and...training sites for future Physician Assistants…This full-time program will last 27 months and include academic and clinical skills courses as well as supervised clinical practice. Students are required to have at least 2,000 hours of healthcare experience before applying and because there is no residency needed after graduation, they can immediately begin working...upon completion of the program...the first PA class would begin in June 2017 on the University's Redfield Campus and the first 24 graduates will be seen in fall 2019.

The Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health is seeking participants with mild Alzheimer's disease to test a drug that has been shown to stop the progression of symptoms in some volunteers...about 250 facilities worldwide participating in a clinical trial called Emerge, which will examine the effects of experimental drug B11B037...The drug...has been shown to remove toxic protein buildup in the brain; researchers believe the buildup may be the cause of Alzheimer's...It has also been shown to stop the progression of symptoms...the Ruvo Center will enroll 10 participants, but more than 2,500 patients will be enrolled worldwide...Individuals participate in trial testing for free, but as with every new drug, there are potential health risks...Side affects of the drug have been shown to include headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and constipation...For further information, call the Ruvo Center at 702-483-6000 or study coordinator Monica Guerra at 702-701-7893.