HEALTH BEAT

CANCER INSTITUTE BREAKS GROUND FOR SUPPORT SERVICES

The Nevada Cancer Institute, located at 1 Breakthrough Way, has broken ground on its Support Services building and is actively pursuing financial support for a third research-exclusive building.

"There is so much more we hope to do. Our goal is to recruit more physician-scientists, develop more areas of expertise and bring more cutting-edge technology to the state," said Heather Murren, NVCI co-founder and chief executive officer. "We are growing our campus to meet the growing needs of our population. Cancer claims the most years of life of any disease in our state, and it will take our collective wisdom and will to change that statistic."

NVCI opened September 2005 and reached 90 percent capacity at the end of the summer. The Charleston office space is at 100 percent capacity. Since opening, patient visits to NVCI have surpassed 125,000.

The Support Services complex will be a 101,000-square-foot building with an adjacent parking garage on 3.25 adjacent acres. The new building will house a number of services and functions, including a 200-seat conference center, offices, clinical trials office, cancer registry, dry labs and a medical education library.

The new building is scheduled for completion in late 2008 or early 2009. The developer is the American Nevada Co. and the contractor is the Korte Co.

For more information, visit nevadacancerinstitute.org.

ALLIANCE GRANTS WISH OF LAS VEGAS BOY

A national alliance was formed between UnitedHealthcare and the Make-A-Wish Foundation to grant a wish for a 3-year-old Las Vegas boy, Travis, who has been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and who is infatuated with Elvis Presley.

The two organizations sent Travis and his family to Hawaii on Oct. 24-29. His granted wish was to hang out with Elvis on a Hawaiian beach. Since Travis is too young to realize Elvis has passed away, he met an Elvis impersonator.

The family also received special guest status at the "Stars in Concert Hawaii" show. They attended a luau in their honor, visited the Maui Ocean Center and took a submarine ride. While on their five-night vacation, the family stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Honolulu.

"Travis' wish is such a wonderful example of the simple joys and magic that a wish can provide to a child," said Cathy Christ, director of development for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Nevada. "The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Nevada is grateful for the wonderful support of UnitedHealthcare in the granting of Travis' wish."

As part of the three-year, $4.5-million alliance -- one of the largest in the nonprofit organization's 27-year history -- each of the foundation's 69 chapters are eligible to receive wish-granting funds through the new program, allowing those local chapters to grant wishes in their communities.

According to Karen Iglesias, president of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Nevada, the organization anticipates granting 150 wishes for local children in 2008.

DOCTOR OFFERS SCOLIOSIS PATIENTS SURGICAL TECHNIQUE

It used to be that the only help surgeons could offer scoliosis patients was to fuse their spine in two separate operations. Now, a technique that allows spinal relief with only one surgery is available in Las Vegas.

Dr. Jonathan Camp, a pediatric spine surgeon at Children's Bone and Spine Surgery, has more than 30 years of experience in pediatric spine, focused on scoliosis. Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine. Each year, an estimated 30,000 children are put into a brace for scoliosis, while 38,000 patients undergo spinal fusion surgery.

Camp has introduced a new surgical procedure, called the pedical subtraction osteotomoy, to Las Vegas. Before the technique, scoliosis patients faced two separate operations -- entering the body through an anterior (front) incision for one, and a posterior entry for the other. Then spinal bones were resectioned and fused.

But Camp removes both the anterior and posterior bone in one operation, using an incision in the back.

"The correction is more precise, with less blood loss," said Camp. "There is also less time spent in the hospital than with other more traditional scoliosis procedures."

In Las Vegas, Camp has two offices, one at 1525 E. Windmill Lane, No. 201, which includes a new practice within the facility, Pediatric and Adolescent Physical Therapy (PAST), and the other at 653 N. Town Center, Suite 208.

For more information, call 434-6920 or go to www.cbsortho.com.

VALLEY HOSPITAL DEBUTS GLOW GERM MACHINE FOR FLU SEASON

Just in time for flu season, Valley Hospital, 620 Shadow Lane, has debuted its Glow Germ Machine.

The machine is a plastic box fitted with a black light. When used with a special lotion, it can show people how clean or dirty their hands really are.

"We use this as a training tool with our staff to reinforce proper technique and the benefits of frequent and diligent handwashing," said Carolyn Ford-Trudo, infection control coordinator for Valley Hospital.

The Glow Germ Machine is an important patient safety educational tool to promote proper hand washing techniques. Valley Hospital Medical Center also promotes hand hygiene through placing waterless, hand-sanitizing gels in public areas and nursing units throughout the hospital. It encourages patients to ask their doctors, nurses and other health-care providers if they remembered to wash their hands before treating them.

GREAT AMERICAN SMOKEOUT ANNIVERSARY IS THURSDAY

The American Cancer Society plans to celebrate the 31st anniversary of the Great American Smokeout on Thursday.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among men and women. It is the largest preventable cause of disease. Smokers who quit before age 50 cut their risk of dying in the next 15 years in half compared with those who continue to smoke, according to the American Cancer Society.

Smokers trying to kick the habit may call 521-7857 or visit tobaccofreenv.com to request this year's Smokeout Gift of Good Health or to seek other cessation information.