Today's guest is Vance Farrow, the healthcare industry specialist at the Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development. With his extensive experience in the industry, Vance brings a lot to the table when it comes to healthcare and its role in economic development.
Speaker 1 (00:00)
Welcome. You're listening to Diversify Nevada, a podcast produced by the Governor's Office of Economic Development. Diversify Nevada provides insightful discussions and expert analysis on the driving forces behind our state's economic, workforce, and community development. I'm Tom Burns, the Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development.
Speaker 3 (00:21)
Today's guest is Vance Farrow, GOED's healthcare industry specialist. With his extensive experience in the industry, Vance brings a lot to the table when it comes to healthcare and its role in economic development. We'll be digging into that and more in today's episode. Before GOED, Vance served as chief of the Bureau of Cancer and Chronic Disease within the District of Columbia Department of Health.
Vance has also been appointed to a number of other positions, including Executive Commissioner to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education and the Governor's Task Force addressing Nevada's broadband and graduate medical education. Vance, welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:58)
Welcome.
Speaker 1 (00:59)
Thank you, thank you, thank you for having me. And this is a wonderful idea. I'm glad we're doing this. I think this is something that will help us out in the long run and get folks to understand who we are and what we do and bring more light to everything economic development. So this is a great idea.
Speaker 3 (01:01)
We're excited to have you here.
And your area of expertise is just one that is kind of front and center. So I'm excited for people to learn more about what you do. Yeah, so with that, go ahead and tell us a little bit about your background in healthcare and what you do here at GOED.
Speaker 1 (01:23)
Thank you.
Sure. So I am the healthcare industry specialist for GOED, as you mentioned. How I got here, that is very interesting because I didn't see myself doing healthcare economic development when I started out, I guess, in my career path, if you will. My initial pursuit was to go into medicine. I credit that to my dad. He was a dentist and exposed me to healthcare, you know.
From day one, I guess, and I was always surrounded by it. And I did very well in math and science. that was my pursuit of my undergrad was in microbiology and chemistry of all things. then I did my master's in public health in health behavior and health education, ⁓ which I guess put a lot of the whole convening of stakeholders into my background. And then that, served me well. started out in Head Start. I coordinated Head Start in Detroit where I grew up and then ultimately moved to Washington DC and took the chief job with the District of Columbia Department of Health and oversaw $50 million pass-through budget for the implementation of chronic disease programs to prevent them and to help better treat them.
And of course the economic downturn with the housing bubble crisis hit the country and then Governor Brian Sandoval sought to create the governor's office of economic development and healthcare was one of the identified sectors. A ⁓ good buddy of mine called me and asked me if this was something I would consider. And I said, absolutely. A couple of phone calls and a couple of interviews later, I was selected. And I think that was so because I didn't have any inherent biases because I was not from Nevada. I didn't have any relationships per se with any organizations and I think that was appreciated. think as I look at all of the sector specialists that were brought in, that was something that we had in common. So I think that was just probably by design.
⁓ But the actual position seeks to grow businesses within the sector, help businesses that are in the sector expand, ⁓ as well as amend or create policies that create a better ⁓ infrastructure for the sector to grow and expand again.
And for workforce pipeline enhancements and the creation of new markets as it pertains to the sector and, you know, good work begets good work. So I started doing things and, you know, we've had a lot of success and a lot of different industries that I didn't really see at the onset like sports medicine that has certainly ⁓ started to grow into a real opportunity for us here and excited for everything that we'll do from now forward as I have been about things that we've already completed.
Speaker 2 (04:18)
So, Vance, when people think about economic development, they might not think of healthcare. Could you talk about the connection between the two and why it's part of our strategy?
Speaker 1 (04:29)
Right, so that's also a very interesting question because I think when GOED was initially created, the impetus was on manufacturing. And so the health care sector wasn't necessarily viewed as a primary job creator. And technically, it's not. I mean, you get into the conversation of what's a primary job versus a secondary job.
For those that don't know, a primary job is one that imports its dollars from out of state as you manufacture and sell a widget from inside of the state. And so it brings in out of state dollars. ⁓ Healthcare can do that in a sliver, but overall it circulates interstate dollars as ⁓ healthcare takes care of the residents here and of course our visitors. And so for the manufacturing side, absolutely, medical device manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, things of that nature, yes, it creates primary jobs, but generally it's a secondary job creator. But I will say this, and what we have noticed is that the healthcare sector is almost bulletproof. I mean, it's certainly recession proof. It's something that we all need from birth to death, and it has very high paying wages. ⁓ The average wage in the healthcare sector is just over $74,000.
When you look at the individuals that make up that sector, and we have thousands of them, they all buy homes, they all eat out restaurants, they have kids, they help to grow our state's economy. ⁓ And it adds to the state's infrastructure with workforce and economic development and technology and research and development. Now, given that the expansion of our state's population grew faster than the ability to provide services, we are in a deficit of healthcare workforce. And so right now we're at about two thirds as compared to the rest of the country per average. And so that is what we are trying to do, at least level the playing field ⁓ so that we can provide better care and better access to quality care for our residents.
Speaker 3 (06:40)
So you've done a lot to advance healthcare education in Nevada, and I think that's a big thing to talk about is how do we start getting people to want to fill these positions. Tell us a bit more about the things you've done in that sphere, maybe starting with the Governor's Task Force for Graduate Medical Education.
Speaker 1 (06:58)
Sure. So it's kind of funny because when I got here, I thought that there would be certain things in place. ⁓ And I learned more about how our School of Medicine, which was called UNSUM at the time, where you did your first two years of clinical rotations in Reno, you came down to Nevada, and then you did your last two years, and then you graduated. And so I felt like because we weren't, and of course, Turo was always here, we weren't graduating enough.
Physicians to fill our gaps, if you will. And so the decision was then made to create more residency slots, because if we create residency slots, then we can use that as a recruiting tool, where folks can go wherever they are in the country and they can matriculate through medical school. And then we can recruit them to Nevada to do their residency programs. And the likelihood is that they'll stay, they'll buy a house, they'll fall in love with somebody, they'll get married and they'll have kids and all that good stuff. And so the data suggests that 70 % of the people that do their residencies in Nevada ultimately stay in Nevada. And so that was seen as a really good return on investment. And so the legislature granted us $10 million. And our first round, if you will, we had about 900 slots.
Now, what I mean by a slot is, Say you graduate medical school and you want to be a pediatrician and a pediatric residency is three years. And so each one of those pediatric residents in each one of those years is a slot. So year one is a slot, year two is a slot, year three is a slot. And if you have a five person residency program, ultimately when it's full, you have 15 slots at one time. So you understand what a slot means. And so we had 900 slots.
And with the $10 million, we were able to push that to 1,400 slots throughout the state. In primary care, that was the focus of the original tranche of funds. And so there have been several waves of funds that have helped to grow that number. I've lost track of the number of slots we have now, but suffice it to say that that has been a very good return on the investment of Nevada dollars. And I believe we are at the point where we will need to also expand our focus.
beyond primary care to now include more specialized fellowships and other residencies because we want to be able to fill the positions that our newly acquired employers will need, such as the folks with Ediner Mountain and the folks at USC and others that are coming into the market. So we want to ensure that all of our hard work doesn't put us in an export position.
Speaker 3 (09:47)
Absolutely,
And I'm interested in hearing more about the launch of the UNLV School of Medicine with ENCHI, which is the Nevada Higher System of Education. And also maybe a little bit about the advisory committee to help launch Rosemond University College of Medicine.
Speaker 1 (10:04)
Sure. ⁓ I was blessed to be invited to participate in ⁓ the advisory panels for both schools of medicine that we now have. It's really nice to tangibly see things that have happened that you've been a part of. Like I said, when I got here, there was no UNLV School of Medicine standalone, and now there is. And we've graduated multiple classes now.
Speaker 2 (10:23)
Definitely.
Speaker 1 (10:33)
Working with Brookings Mountain West, Nevada System of Higher Education, and the team from Trip Umba, we were able to put together an economic forecast to show the need, ⁓ not only for the medical school, but the impact that it would have for the metropolitan area, as well as the state as a whole.
Speaker 2 (10:52)
Is that the only medical school events the UNLV School of medicine is that.
Speaker 1 (10:57)
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (10:58)
Yes, that's the only one in the state.
Speaker 1 (11:00)
Well, no. University of Nevada, Reno has its medical school and now UNLV has its medical school. And then we now have two private entities that have medical schools and one is Terrell University, which is an osteopathic medical school. And Roseman, which is accepting its inaugural class this year, is a brand new allopathic medical school that just got preliminary accreditation in February.
We're very, very, very happy to welcome them into the fray. And now we have four.
Speaker 2 (11:32)
That's sweet.
Speaker 3 (11:33)
Picking up steam.
Speaker 1 (11:34)
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (11:35)
So if you were to talk about some of the direct benefits that Nevadans can get from this influx of healthcare trainees and people doing this as a career, what are some of the tangible benefits that people get from this? Because apart from the people taking the education classes, right? Like my brother's a nurse, my mom's a nurse, my dad wasn't a nurse, but he was in something related to that. like you can really fan out. And I've seen that happen just in my own family. like...
What are some of the things that you're seeing about the immediate impacts?
Speaker 1 (12:09)
Well, you know, so I'll give you an example. So under Roseman's new program, they have this program, it's called Genesis. And so it's very unique in that every medical student that comes and matriculates into their medical school will be responsible for a family. And so they will be tied, tethered to that family for their four years and will be an intricate component of the healthcare delivery for that family.
from day one until they graduate. And the more they learn, the more they'll be able to provide ⁓ treatment and resources for that individual family. Now that's just one example, but it speaks to the direct increase in access to quality care that you would like to see. And so ⁓ again, you have more and more individuals that are coming in. And what happens is when you open a medical school, there's a lot of...
entities that want to be a part of that supply chain, if you will, whether that's folks on the R &D side, whether that's pharmaceuticals, clinical trials, that's folks that want to ⁓ provide their medical devices for training or education. And all of those opportunities create the opportunity for technology and commercialization, which we have funds to support, like the Knowledge Fund. Now we have the Desert
VC Ventures Fund over at UNLV. And so there's other areas that we can help to grow those companies and create even more jobs. We were fortunate enough to invite the National Institutes of Health to come out last year and speak to our startups, our researchers, our medical schools, and help them with funding opportunities. And we hope to continue to do that and make even more inroads into the federal ⁓ system. And so we will continue to do that. But
You know, it's one thing for our ability to try and again, catch up to that place where we know we have deficits. And the idea then is to be able to graduate even more physicians and retain as many as we can into growing residency programs that we have, which can ultimately create less wait times for procedures, more opportunities for people to find providers, more specialized care as well, and create a healthier ⁓
both economy and a healthier community.
Speaker 3 (14:32)
Yeah, no, and you've touched on a lot right now that I find really interesting just because you don't want to be somewhere where there isn't a good health care system. And so our job here is to get people to want to be in Nevada. Well, health care is a huge part of that and building a community and making people want to live a long lasting life. So I find what you do very interesting and very impactful. And I know you've been with GoEd since the beginning. And so you've seen how to front row seat to the evolution of health care throughout the state.
How would you describe the transformation over the years? And from your perspective, are you seeing the kind of progress that suggests real lasting change for Nevadans in the future?
Speaker 1 (15:12)
Absolutely, Carli. mean, like I said, I mean, there are things that I literally can drive around, you know, northern Nevada, southern Nevada, and I see these things taking shape. And that's one of the things that's so rewarding. Like, let me give you an example. So obviously the medical schools, we've talked about those, but then the new hospitals that have been built, I look at future expansions. It was just announced that Nevada State University will have another footprint in North Las Vegas.
And so I'm super excited about that. We've got a ⁓ 500 acre development also on their campus in Henderson that we're looking to create into seller of a wellness and treatment campus. And then we're looking to do a smaller footprint, but similar to that over on the 135 acres in North Las Vegas adjacent to the Nevada VA. The Cambridge Holdings has been brought in by the city of North Las Vegas to be the developers.
Of that land and the idea is to build multiple centers of excellence that will provide specialty care and primary care and really light up that community from again, creation of jobs, but then also ⁓ sort of a little micro village, if you will, of healthcare. so having space for ⁓ lab space, for development, for companies, for startups, things of that nature to sort of create that ecosystem. We're super excited about that.
I mentioned the USC's transplant center earlier, but I'll go into a little more depth with that. They are here now doing transplants for hearts and lungs and livers and pancreas and all the things that we didn't have those procedures prior to them coming here.
Speaker 2 (16:56)
So Vance, a clarifying question on that. So before this transplant center was here, let's say you needed a lung transplant. How would you get a transplanted organ before this center was here?
Speaker 1 (17:09)
Sure, so there's a long standing saying that when you need healthcare like that, you go to McCarran Airport to get it, or Harry Reid as it's now referred to. But ultimately that's what you had to do, and because we didn't have the capacity, we didn't have that specialized care. And so you were pretty much left to your own devices to research that, figure it out, find a healthcare provider, and then someone that would take your...
Speaker 3 (17:21)
Thompson.
Speaker 2 (17:22)
I've never heard that.
Speaker 1 (17:38)
Your level of insurance coverage or whatever that was, and you'd have to set all that up. ⁓ Now, we're recruiting those providers to be here. This was a very good get for us. ⁓ We are still building and wrapping the supply chain and the ecosystem around them. So unfortunately, you still have to go to LA for the actual procedure, but we are going to be building that infrastructure here such that that won't be the case moving forward.
⁓ and that you will be able to get those services in Las Vegas and it's on Mountain View's, Mountain View Hospital's campus and we're looking forward to helping to support their growth and expansion as well. And then of course the standalone children's hospital that Intermountain is looking to build. That'll be another huge shot in the arm, so to speak, for pediatric care within the state of Nevada. And then growing.
The infrastructure with Cure for the Kids as well. Ed Logan has done an excellent job and continues to advocate for children with a variety of oncology and other issues. And so we're going to help to grow Cure for Kids and make it the best it can be and sort of create a larger service delivery platform for pediatric care. So I'm super, super excited about that as well.
Speaker 2 (18:55)
Sounds like you're keeping busy.
Speaker 1 (18:57)
Little bit, yes, little bit. Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (18:59)
Making Nevada a better place.
Speaker 2 (19:02)
So a final question we try to ask everyone and you've hit on some of this throughout today's chat, but why do you care about economic development? And obviously that would include healthcare and everything you're doing. Why does that something that's close to your heart and something that you've dedicated so much of your professional life to?
Speaker 1 (19:20)
Sure. So for me, it only takes that one story from a family that is in need and seemingly has no answer to their cry. Right. I've been in numerous hearings where parents have been at their wits end about the lack of providers, the lack of services, whether it was for their child or another loved one, ⁓ a sibling or what have you. And those things hit you pretty hard.
And when you know that you're efforting towards creating and building a bridge that will take away the burden of not just that family, but many other families with regard to creating more and more opportunities for quality providers to be available. And again, it's not just about, I'm sick and I need somebody to help treat me to get better. Sure, that's a huge part of it.
But healthcare is a much larger ecosystem that involves a lot of different things ⁓ that incorporate technology, incorporate research, incorporate all kinds of clinical developments. And so we're trying to feed and grow a multitude of these things that can bolster startups at the university level and then also import other companies as they're looking to come into our markets that are now much more fertile than they used to be.
And align with the investments that we've already made and sort of continue to grow from that as well. And so again, those create a lot of really good jobs and I've seen that, that tangibly seen that impact over the years. And I'm just, I'm really excited to have the kind of partners that I have that allow innovative thought, innovative ideas to come in and solve problems. I'll leave you with one. So.
The nursing shortage is something that's felt nationwide and that's, you can't run from it. It is what it is. However, we had an idea to tap into clinical nurses that have been practicing for a long time that don't have the teaching certification to be able to teach the next wave of nurses coming into the field. And so I worked with CSN to create a teaching bootcamp.
And so we identified nurses for sort of a pilot. And it was, we had to turn people away because the pilot could only be so large. But clinical nurses that went through this boot camp ⁓ that are now on track to become adjunct professors at CSN to help grow our capacity to create more registered nurses is now a real thing because we dared to create something like this ⁓ medical education.
Boot camp that will allow those clinical nurses that are interested in also teaching to be a part of that solution. And so that's something that's only a year old and we're going to continue to build on that. But it's just one innovative idea that can help to widen the bottleneck for workforce development in the healthcare system. And there are many more to come, so stay tuned. Really, really proud of it.
Speaker 3 (22:25)
Yeah, that's awesome.
This was a great interview, Vance. I hope we can have you on here more often and kind of just talk about the ins and outs of what's going on as I know a lot of Nevadans find this interesting and important.
Speaker 1 (22:38)
Well, I'm happy to share.
Speaker 2 (22:40)
Thank you, sir. Vance, thank you so much for this. It's been a wonderful conversation.
Speaker 3 (22:44)
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (22:45)
My pleasure, thank you both.
Speaker 3 (22:50)
That's all for this episode of Diversify Nevada. This podcast was created by the Governor's Office of Economic Development with the help of our sound editor, Michelle Rebaleati If you'd like to learn more about our agency, can visit our website at goed.nv.gov. And if you'd like to share feedback about the show or suggest a topic you'd us to cover, send us an email to goed@goed.nv.gov. Thanks for joining us and we'll be back soon.