For more than 30 years, Southern Nevada residents have looked to Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center for a variety of healthcare services. Now, as the result of a new strategic plan, Desert Springs Hospital has recommitted itself to doing what it does best: providing quality healthcare in cardiovascular medicine, offering an alternative method to weight management through bariatric surgery and collaborating to provide long-term acute care to the people who have come to depend on Desert Springs Hospital for their healthcare needs.

The Cardiac Care Institute
Desert Springs Hospital has long been known as ‘The Heart Hospital,' a natural choice for both patients and physicians seeking a location for cardiac diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. The hospital performs the second highest number of interventional cardiac procedures and the second highest number of open heart surgeries in the Valley, an impressive achievement for a facility of its size.

Desert Springs Hospital has a reputation for having one of the best cardiac catheterization labs in town. "When it comes to cardiac care, physicians trust our facility and the community knows our reputation," says CEO/ Managing Director Carl W. Fitch Sr.

Enhancements to Desert Springs Hospital’s current Catheterization Lab will allow for both coronary and peripheral vascular procedures to be performed.

Under the direction of a new steering committee, the hospital is moving forward with plans to expand its services in the area of cardiology and create what will be known as the Cardiac Care Institute at Desert Springs Hospital.

The Cardiac Care Institute will be comprised of a dedicated comprehensive cardiac care unit. Plans include a 16-bed intermediate care unit, an 18-bed general cardiac care area and an eight-bed Chest Pain Center. Other enhancements in cardiac services include the addition of a technologically advanced catheterization lab with the capability of providing coronary and peripheral vascular procedures and the addition of a new technologically advanced 16-slice CT scanner for use in coronary angiography that will allow the Radiology Department to be more complementary to the hospital's cardiac service line.

Long-term acute care
Through a partnership with Kindred Healthcare Inc., Desert Springs Hospital recently opened a Long-Term Acute Care Hospital (LTAC). Desert Springs is the only hospital in Southern Nevada that offers long-term acute care services within its own facility, also referred to as a hospital within a hospital.

Desert Springs Hospital partnered with Kindred Healthcare Inc. to open the Valley’s first hospital within a hospital.

"The LTAC is an adjunct to shortterm acute hospital care; families have the comfort of seeing their loved ones receive the long-term acute care they need without having to acclimate to a different environment," says Fitch.

The addition of the 42-bed Kindred Long-Term Acute Care Hospital at Desert Springs Hospital was completed in September and will not only improve the continuum of care for patients and physicians, it also will provide care to patients with complex medical conditions that require longer hospital stays without having to be transferred to another facility.

Center for Surgical Weight Loss
It is estimated that more than 10 million Americans suffer from severe obesity. For these people, weight management is much more than carrying a few extra pounds. It can be a matter of life and death. Now, Desert Springs Hospital is making it easier for Las Vegas residents interested in bariatric weight-loss surgery to obtain those specialized services without having to leave town. The development of the Center for Surgical Weight Loss at Desert Springs Hospital is another part of the hospital's overall strategic initiative to develop new service lines that will help meet the needs of patients and the community.

Under the direction of bariatric surgeon James Atkinson, MD, the Center for Surgical Weight Loss at Desert Springs Hospital will offer individuals seeking alternative methods for weight-loss access to services that may help them lose weight, improve their health and transform their lives. The new Center for Surgical Weight Loss at Desert Springs Hospital will be staffed by a multidisciplinary team of experts who will provide comprehensive care to patients before, during and after bariatric surgery. The Center for Surgical Weight Loss at Desert Springs Hospital is scheduled to open in December.

After three decades of providing quality healthcare to the residents of Southern Nevada, Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center has earned the trust of its community. And, with a re-dedication to its core service areas as well as the addition of new service lines, Desert Springs Hospital and its patients can look forward to a healthy future.

For more information about Desert Springs Hospital or its services, please call 733-8800 or visit www.desertspringshospital.net.

The Valley Health System c/o Valley Hospital Medical Center 620 Shadow Lane Las Vegas, NV 89106