COLUMN: Dental school put on map

Students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, soon will be looking down at the mouth. (Rim shot.)

Sorry about the bad joke, it's just too difficult to resist.

What's happening is UNLV recently completed the purchase of three buildings and 18 acres on Charleston Boulevard at Shadow Lane. The purchase is part of an ongoing effort to start the School of Dentistry -- a milestone for Nevada because would-be dentists have to go out of state to learn their profession.

The buildings have a history of being in the public sector -- they formerly were the site of the Employer's Insurance Company of Nevada (affectionately known as SIIS by longtime residents).

Needless to say, there will be a renovation process because of the age of the buildings. UNLV will spend about $11.5 million to renew about 110,000 square feet for the school to occupy beginning fall semester 2003.

The remainder of the space will be used by a biological research center, but that's grist for another column. There also was some complexity involved in this purchase, but that's grist for a third column.

The purchase was a big deal at the university because it's the first time it has established a school away from the main campus. One of the attractions of the site was its being in the "medical district," according to Bill Wood, director of public relations for the UNLV Foundation and School of Real Estate.

"With 185,000 square feet of space, a parking lot with more than 700 spaces and a central valley location just off Interstate 15, this will make an ideal location for UNLV's School of Dentistry and will provide space for some of our other programs as well," university President Carol C. Harter said.

It probably will be difficult to assess the impact the school will have upon the Las Vegas Valley, but one instance is the contract UNLV has set up with two health-care-organizations -- Health Plan of Nevada and Nevada Health Solutions -- to serve as the preferred providers for dental care for their Medicaid members in Clark County.

Under the contract, the school will be the provider for about 40 percent of the population eligible for Medicaid coverage in Nevada -- those enrolled in Temporary Aid for Needy Families and the Children's Health Assurance Program. It also serves children enrolled in the Nevada Check Up Program in Clark County.

The university will receive about $6.2 million in the first full year of the contract, which will be used to support the cost of clinic operations.

Susan Silverton, the academic dean of the school, said so far UNLV has attracted professors from Tulane University and the University of South Carolina, and Michael Sanders from the University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey, who will be director of patient services. Also, Steven Smith is developing three extramural clinical practices involving instructing students.

The university is in the accreditation process, which Silverton said is a six-year process. The first accreditation visitors will be here April 3-4.

Silverton said UNLV received more than 1,200 applications from across the country for the 75 spots, a point she found startling. So far, the university has accepted 48 students for classes starting Aug. 19, on the main campus.

Because this is only the second dental school to open in the country in 25 years, Silverton said visiting faculty nationwide have been interested in helping UNLV's curriculum development.

She hopes the students will become involved in underserved communities statewide, a program that has proved successful in other states. Maybe then, we won't be down in the mouth.

Carmel Hopkins, real estate product manager for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Sun, can be reached at 380-4574. Her e-mail address is Carmel_Hopkins@ lasvegasnewspapers.com. Snail mail is P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.

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