Susan Davlia, who was named interim administrator of Desert View Regional Medical Center following the departure of Dave Rencher in August, has been named the permanent administrator at the hospital.

"I have been very pleased about the job Susan has been doing as the interim CEO and I'm excited about her taking the position," Mark Stoddard, president and chief executive officer of Rural Health Group said. "We look forward to having Susan as our CEO and working with her in her new role."

Davila was hired at Desert View as chief financial officer Jan. 1. She previously worked for Rural Health Group at Central Valley Medical Center, in Nephi, Utah where the company is headquartered. Prior to that she worked as chief financial officer at hospitals in her native Malta, Mont. and in Warren, Minn.

"I think there's a great potential here for our community to have a small hospital and the services we provide," Davila said.

For the near future Desert View plans to have a nuclear medicine camera operating in January, that will enhance the hospital's ability tremendously to provide cardiac services, she said.

An in-house surgeon, Dr. Stuart Hoffman, recently moved to Pahrump with his family and is working at Desert View Regional full-time, Davlia said. An obstetrician-gynecologist, Dr. Virginia Burnett, is expected to begin work at the hospital Nov. 7, she said.

"Our goals of the hospital are to serve our community to the best of our ability, just to make it so it is a lot more convenient for our local community to have the health care here and not have to drive 60 miles and to keep trying to improve and add onto our services we do not already have," Davila said.

"We want to be able to have a good working relationship with all our physicians in town and in return provide better service for our community in Pahrump."

The number of patients staying in rooms at the hospital, the daily census, is increasing this time of year, with the return of winter visitors, Davila said. She estimated the hospital has an average of about 12 in-patients per day staying in rooms at Desert View.

"We're also trying to work with our local veterans, hopefully we can get a contract with them, so we can be serving them better," Davila said.

The hospital is also in the process of starting a low acuity cardiac center. They can then add more services, she said.

Desert View Regional Medical Center already has the ability to treat gall bladder ailments, an appendicitis, conduct colonoscopies, mammographies and other procedures.

The hospital has 158 employees, Davlia said.

Rencher, a tall, personable hospital administrator from Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., had been with Desert View Regional Medical Center since it opened in April 2006. He didn't specify his reasons for leaving in August.