Closure of clinic frustrates Weekly

Plans to close an aging physical therapy clinic to save a financially strapped hospital about $1.4 million rankled one Clark County commissioner who said the decision was being made hastily.

University Medical Center's chief executive had asked that the county close Rancho Rehab in North Las Vegas because it can't compete with more modern clinics.

Thirty-eight jobs will be cut and most of the workers will be transferred to the hospital.

Commissioner Lawrence Weekly expressed frustration Tuesday during talks about closing the clinic, which is in his district. This was another example of the hospital's financial struggles affecting poorer residents, he said. Perhaps the county should admit it can't afford the hospital, he said.

"Let's have a real, wholehearted discussion about this hospital," Weekly said. "Why don't you say, 'We can't handle this hospital anymore.' "

Weekly, sounding exasperated, said maybe the state should take over running the hospital.

The hospital's deficit has swelled to more than $90 million, in large part because of reduced state funding and uninsured patients who don't pay for care. About $60 million of the shortfall was paid for with tax dollars from the county's general fund.

He also complained that commissioners often received reports at "the 11th hour" and had to make hasty decisions on important matters such as shuttering the clinic.

His impassioned comments drew sympathy from fellow commissioners.

Commissioner Larry Brown said he had come to appreciate Weekly's passion in the 10 years he'd known him. He said the hospital's skyrocketing deficit has resulted from ingrained practices.

"This is decades of tradition that have built up at UMC, and we can't change it in one meeting," Brown said. "It has to change. If not, it will bankrupt the county."

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani agreed that the board should discuss the hospital more extensively, more often. She suggested having meetings devoted just to UMC, so the board can tackle all the problems at once, rather than piecemeal.

Commissioner Steve Sisolak said he shared Weekly's frustration. He said every time he offered a solution to the hospital's budget ills, he was given five reasons why that won't work.

"It's like grabbing a bowl of Jell-O," Sisolak said. "I can't wrap my hands around it."

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.