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April 28, 2006
WHAT A DESERT VIEW Hospital is open!SIERRA HEALTH, SENIOR DIMENSIONS AND HEALTH PLAN NEVADA INSURANCE ACCEPTED
By GINA B. GOOD
After 10 years of on-again-off-again plans and dashed hopes with several health care organizations, the community of Pahrump finally has a hospital in operation. The emergency room at Desert View Regional Medical Center, owned by Rural Health Management Corporation headquartered in Utah, opened at 10 a.m. Thursday. The rest of the hospital was in operation by noon. But the good news doesn't stop there. Hospital CEO David Rencher reports that contracts with insurance providers Senior Dimensions, Sierra Health and Health Plan of Nevada are finalized and in effect. "Other providers will be added as things are finalized," said Rencher. "We are negotiating with everyone." "We have a letter from the Town of Pahrump assuring us they will carry patients to and from the hospital," Rencher added, when asked about the contract for ambulance transport service by Pahrump Valley Fire-Rescue Service. "The letter says that they will support the hospital's needs." At Tuesday's town board meeting, changes were made by the board to the wording of the ambulance transport contract necessitating a response by the hospital. However, Rencher indicated the contract was "a non issue" and it would not prevent the hospital from opening. "If the town wants to keep discussing it, we will continue to work on the contract (with the board)," he said. "When it comes to things like that, they (the town board members) have their reasons and I am willing to be patient. They (the Pahrump Fire-Rescue Service) will carry people to and from the hospital. I am not concerned because that's what they are here for." The final OK, reflecting Desert View had passed the state's stringent inspection came late Wednesday afternoon. According to Rencher, after the inspections the hospital had made "every meaningful correction" listed. "The state is very, very thorough to a level that I have rarely seen," said the CEO, who has experience opening several hospitals. While the staff waited expectantly for the "go or no go" decision, some newly hired hospital workers were put on notice that all three shifts were not yet needed. "We had a hospital ready to go but we ... were not licensed to accept patients. We are not going to run three shifts or be open in the middle of the night when we had no patients," he explained. However, Rencher commented he anticipates the hospital workers will soon be working "more hours than some of them want." As for Rencher, his days are full, and it has not been at all unusual to find him still at his office at 11 p.m. or midnight. But he made it clear Wednesday's call from the state office responsible for licensure made it all worthwhile. Thursday's opening schedule depended upon the state keeping to their schedule in Carson City. They told Rencher the license would be ready at 9 a.m. that morning. Roy Barraclough, project manager during the earlier phases of Desert View's construction, headed to the state capital to pick up the valuable piece of paper. Once the license was in the possession of a member of Desert View's organization, the hospital could open. "We wanted to move as rapidly as we could in support of the community," said Rencher. At 9:47 a.m. Thursday, an announcement on the police scanner broadcast to all deputies that the ER was open. The first emergency patient arrived for treatment shortly thereafter. In addition to a 24-hour ER, the 70,000-square-foot, $30 million medical center boasts 25 private patient rooms and was designed with the ability to rapidly expand to 50 beds. The facility includes two surgical suites, diagnostic imaging, physical therapy and a diagnostic sleep center. There is a newborn nursery and beautifully appointed private delivery suites for expectant mothers. Desert View's lower level - where the loading docks are located - also houses a cafeteria. "It's a gem of a rural hospital," Rencher said in February, explaining that rural hospitals are usually more utilitarian in design and don't include elements such as lobbies. Desert View's soaring lobby has sunlight streaming through high windows accented with colored glass. Tall windows in the administrative offices look northeast, toward the Nopah Mountain range. Desert View is not only for those in need of medical care. For thousands of regional residents the hospital is a beautiful sight for sore eyes. |
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