Air Force seeks Nellis hospital name change
WASHINGTON -- The Air Force is seeking a name change for the Mike O'Callaghan Federal Hospital at Nellis Air Force Base.
An amendment the Senate approved Wednesday would rename the facility the Mike O'Callaghan Federal Medical Center. Officials said that more accurately reflects the "expansive range" of services at Nellis since the facility was upgraded over the past year and a half to become one of the leading Air Force medical centers.
The name change was added by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., to a defense authorization bill that the Senate approved late Thursday. O'Callaghan was Nevada governor in 1971 to 1979.
The hospital, which opened in August 1994, met one of the central requirements to be considered a medical center when it added a residency in general surgery in July 2009.
It is partnering on medical services with the Veterans Administration, which plans to open a regional medical center in North Las Vegas next year.
The proposed name change was propelled by Lt. Gen. Charles B. Green, the Air Force surgeon general who started the expansion of the Southern Nevada facility, said Col. John DeGoes, commander of the 99th Medical Group at Nellis.
