<div id="subtitle">Rogers a good choice to spur the effort to turn UMC into a teaching facility</div><div><p> Jim Rogers has a big job ahead of him. The millionaire businessman, philanthropist and former chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education was picked by Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid to head the effort to transform the deficit-plagued University Medical Center into a teaching hospital.</p><p> Rogers will try to attract a top-notch health care partner to work with UMC and the University of NevadaÕs medical school. He is an excellent choice, with his ties to education and health care. He also has a strong track record of accomplishment.</p><p>ÒHe doesnÕt stop at obstacles thrown in his way,Ó said Dr. Maurizio Trevisan, executive vice chancellor and CEO of the Health Sciences Center for the Nevada System of Higher Education. ÒHe has energy and he has vision and he has passion for this thing.Ó</p><p>As Joe Schoenmann reported in ThursdayÕs Las Vegas Sun, Rogers has access to many prominent donors and executives. Commissioner Steve Sisolak, who was a member of the higher education systemÕs Board of Regents when Rogers was hired, said Rogers Òknows these people — he can get a hold of these people at Johns Hopkins or the Cleveland Clinic, and he can get them here.Ó</p><p>A tough-minded visionary, RogersÕ tenure as chancellor was marked by success. He calmed the university systemÕs Board of Regents, which had devolved into political infighting, and improved the image of the system. He also brought national prominence and helped UNLV to its first $500-million fundraising drive. He provided a strong voice for education in Nevada. His feistiness garnered him his share of critics, particularly as he took on university presidents, regents and the governor. However, whatever anyone thinks of Rogers, one thing is clear: He gets results.</p><p>The question now will be who he can lure to Nevada and how quickly he can do it. During a news conference last week, Rogers said he would work quickly and said he expects to have a preliminary plan done within 90 days.</p><p>He noted that things cannot go on as they currently are — Clark County provided $145 million in subsidies to UMC last year. The public hospital provides indigent care, which has been a drain on the budget. A change of focus to teaching and research would be a great addition to Southern Nevada.</p><p>The benefits of a strong teaching hospital are evident in other states with similar facilities. We would think that a greater focus on educating doctors would help not just the students but also the medical community. It should also bring cutting-edge care and improve medicine in Southern Nevada. As well, research conducted at teaching hospitals can spur economic development in a community.</p><p>Southern Nevada has taken significant steps over the past decade to improve the quality of medicine here and seen the start of the Nevada Cancer Institute and the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.</p><p>There are many challenges ahead to turn UMC into a teaching hospital, but we believe that it is a course worth pursuing and Rogers is the right man for the job. Done correctly, a teaching hospital, run by a prominent group, would take health care to a new level in Nevada.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=67245632&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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