Home > Media & Press Releases > Press Releases > UMC Celebrates 75 Years of Community Commitment and Service

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

UMC Celebrates 75 Years of Community Commitment and Service

This year, University Medical Center of Southern Nevada (UMC) is celebrating 75 years of providing excellence in health care to Las Vegas residents and visitors.

“We want to invite all of Las Vegas to celebrate UMC’s 75th year,” said UMC Chief Executive Officer Lacy Thomas. “Our history reflects the contributions we have made to our community. As Las Vegas grows, UMC will continue to provide the excellence in care needed for all who reside and visit our valley.”

Administrators, staff members and local leaders are embracing the 75th anniversary festivities by creating a series of events to commemorate UMC’s long-standing contributions to the community. The events will also emphasize UMC’s future by focusing on the organization’s goals for the next 75 years.

In addition to celebrating the grand opening of a new medical tower later this year, some of the planned events include an Employee Wellness Health Fair on May 17, a Las Vegas 51’s baseball game and fireworks display honoring UMC staff and patients, and a fundraising gala slated for September.

Other 75th anniversary projects under development include the donation of public art for display at UMC and a photo yearbook to capture this important community celebration.

For 75 years, UMC has been at the forefront of medical care and community health. UMC operates the state’s only Burn Care Center and Level I Trauma Center. The state’s first kidney transplant was conducted at the hospital, and in 2005, UMC received national recognition for its organ donor program. This honor has been granted to fewer than 200 hospitals in the nation, UMC officials said.
UMC has been named one of the 50 best hospitals in the country for neurology and neurosurgery and employs the national chairperson of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma.

The hospital is affiliated with the University of Nevada School of Medicine and serves as the state's major clinical campus, offering residency programs from internal medicine to pediatrics.

Many of the activities built around the anniversary will focus on UMC’s history, which goes as far back as the construction of Hoover Dam and the legalization of gambling in the state of Nevada. In 1931, when Las Vegas was home to about 7,000 residents, new medical facilities were urgently needed. On July 15, 1931, the new 20-bed Clark County Indigent Hospital, as it was called at the time, was established.

In February 1986, the hospital was officially named University Medical Center of Southern Nevada to better reflect its role as a teaching hospital providing comprehensive medical care.

“From its humble beginnings on a dirt road west of the railroad tracks, UMC has continued to be a leader in health care services in Las Vegas,” Thomas said. UMC has grown to a 588-bed medical facility, including 34 beds for rehabilitation, and will continue to expand to better serve the needs of the community. In late 2006, the hospital grounds will undergo another transformation with the completion of a new five-story tower adding an additional 175,000 square feet.

For more information about UMC services or the 75th anniversary celebration, please visit www.umcsn.com or call 702.383.2090.

Contact Information:
Kristina Zemaitis , Public Relations Specialist
(702) 383-2090
kristina.zemaitis@umcsn.com
University Medical Center
1800 West Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89102