Relocating to Las Vegas | Internal medicine department at the University of Nevada School of Medicine receives $800,000 grant to start diabetes center in Las Vegas

Apr. 12th, 2010

Internal medicine department at the University of Nevada School of Medicine receives $800,000 grant to start diabetes center in Las Vegas

For Immediate Release:

LAS VEGAS, Nev.—The University of Nevada School of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine was awarded $800,000 as part of an appropriations bill passed by the U.S. Senate last December that provides funding for several industry sectors in Nevada, including health and human services, according to a press release from the office of Nevada Senator Harry Reid.

The grant will go towards creating a state-of-the-art diabetes center in Las Vegas.

"Diabetes mellitus is a serious and chronic illness that affects 25 million Americans. Between 2001-06, the prevalence of diabetes in Nevada increased 32 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control," says John Varras, M.D., interim chair of internal medicine at the School of Medicine.

"In 2006, nearly 200,000 adults in Nevada were diagnosed with diabetes, with Las Vegas reporting a nearly eight percent prevalence."

The diabetes center will include a multidisciplinary management team directed by endocrinologists and includes nurse diabetes educators and dieticians, who can address the multiple organ system pathology of diabetes and the complexities of treatment.

As a regional center of excellence, the center will work to increase diabetes research in southern Nevada in collaboration with scientific investigators throughout the country, serve as a destination where patients with diabetes can receive state-of-the-art management, help the School of Medicine recruit endocrinologists to Las Vegas by expanding clinical services in this underserved specialty, and improve diabetes training for medical students and internal medicine residents.

"The most important benefit of creating a diabetes center in Las Vegas is that it will help reduce diabetes related complication rates, which will help control costs associated with diabetes management. We hope to improve the quality of life for patients living with diabetes in southern Nevada," adds Varras.

About the Company:

University Health System, the clinical practice of the University of Nevada School of Medicine, offers care in more than 40 medical specialties and sub-specialties with seven physician offices in Reno and seven in Las Vegas. Specialties include family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and surgery. As the largest multi-specialty health care focus in the state, University Health System's more than 300 doctors practice and teach medicine throughout Nevada. For more information visit www.uhsnevada.org .

University Health System
(702) 671-2230