MountainView prepares for patient growth with enhanced expansion
MountainView Hospital has decided to enhance its current expansion by adding two floors to the single-story emergency room and intensive care wing now under construction.
The second floor will have 32 general-use beds and the interior of the third floor will remain unfinished. This will raise the total cost of the project past $60 million, compared to $34 million when ground was broken last summer.
MountainView, in the northwest part of the valley, is positioning itself to tap into the senior population in the area. According to state statistics, 59 percent of MountainView's $793.6 million in billings during the first three quarters of 2011 were sent to Medicare, compared to the average of 46 percent for all Clark County hospitals.
The first stage of the expansion included a 12-bed intensive care unit and boosting the emergency room capacity from 22 to 42 beds. The construction of new hospital space comes as hospitals have generally seen flat or declining patient numbers caused in part by the loss of health insurance because of high unemployment.
MountainView, however, has run an 85 percent occupancy rate this year, the second-highest in the county and nearly 20 points better than the average.
One of three HCA hospitals in the valley, MountainView also reported a $3.5 million operating loss for the three quarters, an average of $216 for every patient that walked in the door.
Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at toreiley@review journal.com or 702-387-5290.
