Health facility to open in Tonopah in June
About 10 months after the only hospital in a 100-mile radius closed, Tonopah will welcome a new medical center, according to Northern Nevada health care group Renown Health.
Renown Medical Group — Tonopah will open June 1 at the site of the former Nye Regional Medical Center in a partnership between Renown and the Nye County Board of Commissioners, it was announced Tuesday at a meeting of the board.
The site, which Renown is leasing through an agreement with Nye County, will use secure telehealth videoconferencing technology to connect patients with doctors, said Rich Conley, director of Renown Regional Medical Center.
The technology will “help patients access primary care providers as well as more than 30 specialties — including neurology, endocrinology, behavioral health and gastroenterology,” the company said in a news release.
Appointments will be consultative in nature, and a nurse will take a history and do a physical for first-time patients before the videoconference appointments with Reno-based physicians.
The facility will be staffed by three to four employees initially, and any surgeries or other serious procedures will be referred to hospitals, Conley said.
Renown has hired three former Nye Regional employees for the facility.
“This partnership with Nye County allowed us to create an innovative and sustainable solution for the residents of Tonopah and the surrounding communities in central Nevada,” Conley said in the release.
Renown said it is working to expand the number of services that the facility will offer by looking for an on-site advanced practitioner, hiring more support staff and expanding lab and imaging services.
“It was important to us to restart health care services, and we are glad Renown stepped in to help find a solution for this community,” Nye County Commissioner Lorinda Wichman said in the release.
The 10-bed Nye County Regional Medical Center closed in August, forcing some residents of the area to visit other Nevada counties or California for medical treatment.
Renown Health operates in a 17-county region including parts of Northern Nevada and Northern California.
It describes itself as a not-for-profit integrated health care network with three acute care hospitals, a rehabilitation hospital, skilled nursing and an insurance company called Hometown Health.
An open house will be held 1 to 4 p.m. May 20 at the new Tonopah facility, 825 S. Main St., for residents to learn about the services that will be offered.
Contact Pashtana Usufzy at pusufzy@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4563. Find @pashtana_u on Twitter.
