By: Las Vegas Now Staff
The growth of Southern Nevada is creating a higher demand for medical services. Soon, a new hospital will open in the northwest part of the valley providing easier access to the snowballing population of that area.
The $100 million Centennial Hills Hospital and Medical Center, located off U.S. 95 at Durango — will provide a full range of services in the rapidly-expanding northwest.
The hospital's chief executive officer, Kevin Stockton says area residents are looking forward to a hospital closer to home.
“We've got 250,000 people in a 5-to-6 mile radius of our hospital that have had to drive to all different parts of town for care,” said Stockton.
The 165 bed facility is equipped with the latest medical technology, including advanced imaging devices ranging from nuclear medicine to digital mammography.
Among the unique hi-tech features is a remote imaging system that will allow doctors to view critical tests from anywhere in the city. But staffing the new eight story hospital with its 400 employees has not been easy. Recruitment within the medical community has become highly competitive.
“It is a challenge to hire and recruit the right people to provide the best care. We've been fortunate that we've had a very high level of interest from the health care community in working here, not only from our staff positions, but also physicians,” said Stockton.
Chief nursing officer, Carol Butler, has also been busy filling positions from the ground up in the midst of a nursing shortage.
There are more than six specialty areas that must be fully staffed with nurses including intensive care, women's services, surgery and cardiology. Butler says fortunately, there's an upside to being new.
“There are nurses that are coming to Centennial Hills from other hospitals in Las Vegas. But we're also drawing nurses from all over the United States. This is a real exciting opportunity for a nurse to be able to go to work in a brand new facility and not an opportunity that comes along everyday. So we've had good luck in recruiting,” said Butler.
An opening date for Centennial Hills Hospital has not been announced. Although, in the adjacent medical building, some physicians will begin seeing patients this week. The new hospital has an extra 52,000 square feet that will be used for future expansion.
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