Desert View Hospital is first line of health care

When people hear the term “critical access hospital,” they often ask me, “What does that really mean?” For us, at Desert View Hospital, it means being able to meet most of the day-to-day and emergency health-care needs of our community. We do this while also working closely with larger hospitals in Las Vegas, such as our affiliated hospitals within the Valley Health System, when patients require more advanced or specialized care.

A critical access hospital (CAH) is a rural hospital designed to make sure patients in smaller communities can access essential healthcare close to home. This structure ensures that people in communities like Pahrump don’t have to drive long distances for urgent needs, routine surgeries, or inpatient care.

But part of being a CAH also means recognizing our limitations. By design, critical access hospitals are not equipped to provide every highly specialized service, such as neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery, or other treatments that require a specialized physician and team. Instead, our role is to be your first line of care: to stabilize, treat, and support patients, and then, when necessary, connect them quickly to a higher level of care.

That’s where our partnership with hospitals in Las Vegas becomes so important. If a patient needs treatment beyond what we can safely provide, our team coordinates a safe transfer, so they receive the advanced care they need without delay.

In fact, our close working relationships with larger hospitals mean that patients from Pahrump benefit from both the personalized attention of a local hospital and the resources of major medical centers.

This system is intentional, it allows Desert View Hospital to stay focused on providing the most vital, community-centered services while ensuring that no patient falls through the cracks when more specialized care is needed.

At Desert View, we are proud to be “critical” to our community’s health, while also serving as a trusted bridge to higher levels of care when that’s what’s best for the patient. It’s a partnership that keeps healthcare both close to home and within reach when more is required.

Susan Davila is the Chief Executive Officer of Desert View Hospital and has a passion for rural healthcare and access.