New School of Medicine clinic opens in Henderson

The University of Nevada School of Medicine cut the ribbon Tuesday on a new care center in Henderson designed to serve wide-ranging primary care needs by providing several specialties in one clinic.

Located on the second floor of the Seven Hills Office Complex, 3175 St. Rose Parkway, the center handles plastic surgery, pediatric and geriatric care, sports injuries and neurological care. It also provides advanced testing for allergies and asthma, among other services.

It’s the first center offered by the school to consolidate so many medical services at one location.

The center is geared toward families, said Dr. William Zamboni, senior associate dean for clinical affairs at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. Zamboni, who lives in Henderson, pitched the concept for creating a school-run center housing multiple specialties for the convenience of families.

The idea is that if a patient sees a doctor for one ailment and then needs a referral for another type of care, the patient can be connected with a specialist in a few days and return to the clinic already familiar with the patient’s particular needs and history, said Susan Hill, director of marketing and communications for the University of Nevada School of Medicine.

This cuts down on stress for the patient and prevents duplicate testing, Hill said.

It took about two and half years to see the center come to fruition, said David Rencher, director of operations and business development at the University of Nevada School of Medicine.

Dr. Thomas Schwenk, dean of the University of Nevada School of Medicine, couldn’t provide an exact figure for the cost of making the care center a reality, but said “a couple hundred thousand” was provided by the school for start-up costs. Revenue generated through the faculty’s medical practices and research provided another “couple hundred thousand.”

Schwenk said the opening of the Henderson center is part of a grander vision of expanding the school’s presence in the Las Vegas area.

Henderson wasn’t an area the school had been serving, he said. The school has 13 other centers in the Las Vegas Valley, the majority located downtown.

Schwenk said the valley doesn’t really know what it means to have the resources of a full medical school, as it isn’t yet a dominant force in the community.

Schwenk said the state is so under-served he views health care in Nevada as an “all hands on deck” situation.

The school would like to open another center of similar size and scope in Summerlin, Rencher said. That project is in the early stages and doesn’t have an end date, Rencher said.

The University of Nevada School of Medicine Patient Care Center-Henderson began taking patients in April, but Tuesday was the center’s grand opening.

The almost 30 physicians at the center are all university-affiliated. The school-run centers give faculty a chance to use and develop their skills and give residents the opportunity to learn, Rencher said.

Specialties include: adult allergy/immunology; family medicine; geriatrics; obstetrics/gynecology and women’s health; pediatrics; sports medicine; surgery; and urogynecology.

Contact Bethany Barnes at bbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Find her on Twitter: @betsbarnes.