GUEST COLUMN:

Momentum building for health higher ed in Southern Nevada

Touro University

As we welcome the newest group of medical students to the 14th class at Touro University Nevada, I want to welcome the first class to the new medical school at my alma mater, UNLV. We are excited to work together as we help expand access to health care in our great state.

Exciting things are taking place at Touro, inside and outside of the classroom. Thanks to the research of two of our medical students, Graham Lambert and Charles Cullison, a new law was passed during the recent legislative session to strengthen marijuana DUI testing.

Touro celebrated the graduation of nearly 300 new physicians, health care professionals and educators during our spring commencement. Since 2004, it has graduated more than 3,400 professionals, with nearly 1,000 of them licensed to practice and teach in the state.

Our students make a difference in the community, which follows the Touro mission: to serve, to lead, to teach. Our mobile clinics provide basic health care services to Southern Nevada’s most underserved populations, from an existing partnership with Opportunity Village to new ones with Veterans Village II, U.S. Vets and Village of Hope.

On Aug. 4, students and faculty from our College of Osteopathic Medicine will participate in their day of service as part of new student orientation. They’ll spend the day volunteering and making meaningful connections through service.

It’s a wonderful time to be a part of the Touro family, and we look forward to many more exciting things to come.

Shelley Berkley is CEO and senior provost for Touro University’s Western Division, including its campuses in Nevada and northern California.

Roseman University

We believe 2017 is our “Year of Breakthroughs” for Roseman University’s planned College of Medicine, having intensified efforts to prioritize clinical-practice development, increase and diversify philanthropic support, and strengthen our research program. We continue to develop relationships and share our mission, vision and values.

This year, we launched our DiscoverMed program, an immersive experience for high school students designed to stimulate interest in the biomedical sciences. As a result, we received a $35,000 grant from The Del E. Webb Foundation to expand the number of schools and students participating.

Our physician faculty are committed to providing outstanding services, and we welcome area physicians to partner with us to provide patient-centered care.

One of our researchers recently received a Geographical Management of Cancer Health Disparities award from the National Cancer Institute to investigate prostate cancer’s disparate impact on African-Americans in Nevada.

We continue to receive philanthropic gifts to support development of the College of Medicine, including a recent anonymous $500,000 donation.

Faculty and staff are volunteering. We recently provided no-cost physicals at a health fair in Logandale, with partners from the Valley Health System. Every month, we select a nonprofit agency to support, such as Opportunity Village, Three Square to Catholic Charities.

If we continue to make progress as planned, we will be looking to have our first class begin in 2019.

Dr. Mark Penn is founding dean of the College of Medicine at Roseman University.

Business

Share