Valley Hospital recently commemorated 50 years of caring for southern Nevada residents and tourists in January 2022.

Originally built as a nursing home, Valley Hospital was converted into an acute care hospital with 269 beds and four operating rooms by seven local businessmen. In 1979, Valley Hospital was acquired by Universal Health Services (UHS) founder Alan B. Miller, creating the foundation of one of the largest hospital management companies in the US. Today, the 328-bed hospital specializes in advanced cardiovascular and neurological care, emergency and surgical services, adult behavioral health, and an outpatient wound care and hyperbaric medicine care.

“When you think about the incredible growth in population and tourism over the past 50 years, and the role Valley Hospital has played in saving lives, caring for patients and training our future physicians, it’s a pretty impressive arc,” said Claude Wise, CEO of Valley Hospital. “Valley Hospital’s culture and its commitment to caring for patients, families, coworkers and our community is one of its greatest strengths.”

Fast Facts & Highlights
Excellence in Stroke Care – In 2020, Valley Hospital was the first hospital within The Valley Health System to become an Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center from The Joint Commission and The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. The hospital was accredited as a Primary Stroke Center in 2007 and established its neurology residency program in 2007.

Adding Physicians to Southern Nevada. In 2006, Valley Hospital established its graduate medical education program for physicians. Today, it offers residencies and fellowships in family medicine, internal medicine, neurology and orthopedic surgery, and fellowships in pulmonary critical care and gastroenterology, along with a Pharmacy residency program. Many graduates of the residencies and fellowships have established their practices locally.

Expanding Tourist Access to Medical Care – In 2021, Valley Hospital acquired Elite Medical Center, located at 150 E. Harmon, adjacent to Las Vegas Boulevard.

Flight For Life: The area’s first “flying emergency room” – Flight For Life was the first hospital-based air ambulance service in Southern Nevada and had an air speed of 140 mph. Established in February 1980, it made 365 patient flights its inaugural year. In December 2001, the service was sold to Mercy Air, having logged approximately 20,000 flights within a four-state radius.

“Firsts” to Celebrate – Over the years, Valley Hospital was the first in the community to provide new services and technological advances which are now taken for granted. For example, it was the first Nevada hospital to initiate a new program to prepare intravenous (IV) medicine (1974), install a CT scan (1977), offer the region’s first hospital-based air ambulance service (1980), perform a successful percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty in Southern Nevada, organize the state’s first eye bank (1982), install the first MRI in Clark County (1987) and offer labor-delivery-recovery suites in its obstetrics unit (1987).

Establishing The Valley Health System – Valley Hospital is the namesake and foundation of The Valley Health System which includes Summerlin Hospital (1997), Desert Springs Hospital (acquired 1998), Spring Valley Hospital (2003), Centennial Hills Hospital (2008), Henderson Hospital (2016), The Valley Health Specialty Hospital (2021) and West Henderson Hospital (groundbreaking 2022).

Updated information about The Valley Health System can be found on:
Facebook: TheValleyHealthSystemLV
Instagram:  www.instagram.com/thevalleyhealthsystem
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-valley-health-system
YouTube: www.youtube.com/TheValleyHealthSystem

Photo: Valley Hospital in 1970; courtesy of Valley Hospital Medical Center