Valley Hospital is home to the only hospital-based acute inpatient rehabilitation unit in the Las Vegas Medical District.  Situated close to both downtown Las Vegas and the Strip, the hospital is uniquely positioned to care not only for southern Nevada residents, but also thousands of tourists who come to Las Vegas for work and play.

“We’ve cared for patients from all 50 states and multiple countries,” says CEO Elaine Glaser. “We need a world map to keep track of all our patients’ hometowns.”

When Las Vegas resident and Golden Nugget’s VP of entertainment, Ron O’Neal suffered a stroke in October 2013, the acute rehabilitation department at Valley Hospital was his home for several weeks.

“Rehabilitation is the kind of thing you really don’t think about until you need it. I needed it and Valley Hospital was there for me,” said Ron.  After an extensive evaluation and assessment, the therapy team developed an individualized treatment program. “The therapists started putting me through the paces. What they did for me was amazing and fantastic,” he says.

Ron continued his therapy for several weeks, day undergoing physical therapy to help him relearn to walk, occupational therapy to rebuild the strength in his arms and cognitive therapy to help improve his eyesight and his speech. He was able to return to his career, full-time.

“I always knew I was in the best hands,” he said.

Since opening in late 1971, Valley Hospital has grown from a small community hospital into a metropolitan academic medical center providing advanced neurological, cardiovascular and surgical care to more than 50,000 emergency patients and over 14,000 inpatients in 2015 alone.

Along the way, the hospital has refined its ability to diagnose, intervene and treat life-threatening illnesses like heart attacks and strokes, while maintaining accreditation as both an accredited Chest Pain Center and Certified Primary Stroke Center.

Providing advanced medical care for patients also involves an ongoing investment in new equipment. “Our latest purchase is the daVinci® Xi™ robotic surgical system,” says Glaser. “This technology is especially beneficial for patients who need gynecological, urological and colorectal surgery.”

Valley Hospital also identifies community needs and finds a way to fulfill them. With an increasing physician shortage in southern Nevada, Valley Hospital started a graduate medical education residency program in 2006 to create a pipeline of primary care and subspecialists. Since then, about 145 residents and fellows have graduated, and just over 50 percent of them have opted to practice in Nevada.

“We’ve made some big changes in our hospital the past several years,” says Glaser. “Our employees are like a family, and their goal is to provide the best care possible to every patient who enters our doors.”

To learn more about Ron O’Neal’s story, visit valleyhospitalsystemlv.com

Photo: Ron O’Neal courtesy of Valley Hospital