Lone Trauma Facility in Danger of Closing

Car accident victims and other critically injured patients in Las Vegas won’t have access to trauma care come Wednesday if doctors fail to agree to an emergency plan passed by Clark County commissioners, hospital officials said.

With the threat of the valley’s only trauma center closing next week, commissioners have approved a plan to try to lure back doctors who recently resigned from county-operated University Medical Center.

“This is a very important, life-or-death situation,” County Commissioner Erin Kenny said.

At least 60 specialists of the 1,400 doctors at UMC have resigned or asked for leaves of absence from the facility in recent weeks.

The doctors say they fear the on-call and emergency room work puts them at high risk for medical malpractice cases at a time when malpractice insurance rates are skyrocketing.