Southwest Las Vegas ear, nose and throat surgery center joins Sunrise Health System as Nevada faces a specialist shortage

What happened

KTNV reported that the Ear, Nose & Throat Surgery Center on West Sunset Road in southwest Las Vegas has become part of Sunrise Health System. The center has served the Las Vegas area for about a decade. Sunrise Health System says the partnership will give the center access to more equipment and physicians and help it serve more patients.

According to KTNV, the center also recently added Mondays to its hours. It is located at 8840 W. Sunset Road, Suite B, Las Vegas, Nevada 89148.

Why specialist access matters in Nevada

A statewide shortage

KTNV cited figures from the Nevada Health Workforce Research Center at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine. The research center found that Nevada has roughly half as many ear, nose and throat specialists per capita as the national rate. According to those figures, the state would need about 50 additional specialists to reach the national level.

What the medical director says

Dr. Grail L. Brookshire, the center's medical director, told KTNV that demand for specialized care is high. He added that surgery centers focused specifically on ear, nose and throat procedures are uncommon.

Brookshire said the added resources and availability could help patients get treatment sooner. "In terms of integration and being available, it should help reduce the amount of wait time," he told KTNV.

What the center offers

Procedures for adults and children

According to KTNV, the center performs ear tube placement, tonsil and adenoid removal, sinus surgery and more complex operations. It also treats pediatric patients. The procedures available to children depend on each patient's needs.

Same-day care and hospital backup

Eligible patients can have outpatient procedures and return home the same day. KTNV reported that for complex cases needing hospital resources or overnight monitoring, the center works with community hospitals.

One patient's experience

Raven Bierlein, 29, who lives in southwest Las Vegas, told KTNV she struggled to breathe through her nose for much of her life. She had surgery at the center last month. Since then, she said, she can breathe and smell better and no longer snores as she did before.

The broader push in Southern Nevada

Sunrise Health System told KTNV that the center is part of its effort to expand access to specialized surgical services in Southern Nevada. KTNV framed the partnership against the backdrop of the state's shortage of ear, nose and throat specialists.

For more local stories, see our coverage of southwest Las Vegas and other neighborhoods and our community news section.

What to watch next

• Whether joining Sunrise Health System reduces patient wait times, which medical director Dr. Grail L. Brookshire said it should help do.
• Nevada's gap of about 50 ear, nose and throat specialists needed to reach the national per capita rate, according to UNR's Nevada Health Workforce Research Center.
• Sunrise Health System's stated effort to expand access to specialized surgical services in Southern Nevada.