While 220,000 people call the Spring Valley area of Las Vegas home, healthcare services in the area have been scarce. Few physicians have set up offices in Spring Valley, and many residents drive 12 miles or more from home for healthcare. That is about to change.
“We don’t want people to have to drive those 12 miles,” said Karla Perez, CEO of the 176-bed Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center, which is set to open this fall. Spring Valley is one of three new hospitals that will be opening on the Las Vegas Valley’s west side in the near future.
When the four-story, 280,000-square-foot hospital opens at the southeast corner of Rainbow Boulevard and Hacienda Avenue, Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center will be the fourth hospital within The Valley Health System. Its sister hospitals include Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center, Summerlin Hospital Medical Center and Valley Hospital Medical Center.Perez said her intent is to provide a full-service spectrum of healthcare to the Spring Valley area, including a 60,000-square-foot medical office building.
Perez has worked for Universal Health Services in Las Vegas for nearly two decades, beginning her career as a medical records clerk at Valley Hospital. Prior to being named CEO of Spring Valley Hospital, she served as CEO/managing director of Desert Springs Hospital.
Perez and her management team are designing Spring Valley Hospital with the area’s current and future needs in mind. In Las Vegas, many emergency rooms are under-sized and over-crowded. Spring Valley is considered a mid-sized hospital. However, the hospital will feature one of the largest emergency rooms and intensive care units in the city, according to Perez. Spring Valley’s hospital rooms are all planned as private rooms, offering room-service-style food catering. Rather than offering routine mealtime tray delivery in which every patient eats at the same time, Spring Valley Hospital will function essentially like a hotel. If patients are hungry, they pick up the phone and are connected to the food services department.
While the average patient goes into any healthcare facility expecting good quality care, Perez has found that overall patient satisfaction is driven more by service quality than clinical quality, so she tries to deliver what she calls the “wow” factor with service. She hopes that extra level of service will help set Spring Valley Hospital apart from other medical centers cropping up in the growing area. “We plan to set ourselves apart not only by what we provide but how we provide it,” Perez said.
Spring Valley will place computerized electronic patient medical records at the bedside of each patient. That terminal doubles as a patient entertainment system. Patients will be able to watch movies, surf the Internet and play video games. Patients will be charged for these additional services, just as hotels charge for in-room movies and Internet services.
Beyond serving as an upscale amenity, the medical record terminal at the bedside gives the healthcare worker a longer time to interact with the patient. Perez hopes this extra interaction will drive customer satisfaction and services, bringing what she thinks is missing in many healthcare situations. “You hear so much about clinical quality and medication errors,” Perez said. “We are also very concerned about being sure we provide quality service. If you have satisfied patients, they will tell other potential patients.”
Las Vegas residents and tourists often tend to expect a higher-than-standard level of service from area hospitals. Perez recalled a Las Vegas visitor staying at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino who was admitted to the hospital. When he asked where his terrycloth robe was, Perez made arrangements to bring one over from the Bellagio.
