UNLV study: Las Vegas’ first freestanding children’s hospital could be built by 2030

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Utah’s largest healthcare provider, Intermountain Healthcare, has shown interest in partnering on a stand-alone children’s hospital project in Southern Nevada.

That’s according to a new study conducted by Tripp Umbach for UNLV’s Lincy Institute, which looked at the need for a full-service independent children’s hospital.

A proposed 150-bed children’s hospital is estimated to cost $1 billion to build, create nearly 12,000 jobs, and yield $58.2 million in state and local taxes over five years, according to the Umbach report.

It would also help fill a gap in the area’s pediatric healthcare providers. In total, Nevada has 267 pediatricians to serve 640,000 children up to the age of 18.

The study suggests the optimum site for the facility would be at the Harry Reid Technology Center at UNLV in southwest Las Vegas.

“We are still to early on, we are in the feasibility and needs study, the location will be determined by the partnership, but we are actually calling today for a partnership of local and national organizations to come together and work to develop a plan which would then show where the location would be,” Tripp Umbach said.

Umbach says a hospital could be built by 2030.

Brad Gillman, a spokesperson for Intermountain Healthcare, said it agrees with the information presented in the report, and the importance of collaboration to improve children’s healthcare in Las Vegas.

“No decisions have been finalized regarding specific types of facilities that might be built in Southern Nevada,” he said.