NHBC Celebrates Grand Opening of Kirk Kerkorian Medical Education Building
A community aspiration for generations has become a reality with today’s grand opening of the Kirk Kerkorian Medical Education Building. The official grand opening was marked by a ceremony at the state-of-the art, 135,000 square foot facility, attended by the private donors that drove critical funding and those involved with implementation of the project, UNLV leadership, special guests, and public officials.
Credit: Nevada Health & Bioscience Corporation (NHBC)
The new facility is located on a 9-acre site at 625 Shadow Lane. It is situated within the Las Vegas Medical District, a collaborative effort between the City of Las Vegas and the Downtown Las Vegas medical and healthcare community.
Developed by nonprofit Nevada Health & Bioscience Corporation (NHBC) and designed by TSK Architects, the Kirk Kerkorian Medical Education Building broke ground in late October 2020 and took less than two years to complete. It is the first ever to bear Kerkorian’s name, who was a philanthropic and business trailblazer in Southern Nevada and whose legacy carries on.
“Today is a landmark day for healthcare in Southern Nevada,” said Anthony Mandekic, executor of the estate of Mr. Kerkorian. “It was always a vision of Mr. Kerkorian’s to help take medicine to the next level in our community and in our state. We have accomplished just that, and I know he would be proud.”
“This project has been a testament to organizations and individuals aligning a common mission and resources to spark critical positive change for our community,” adds Maureen Schafer, CEO of NHBC. “I truly believe that the work we’ve accomplished with this beautiful new home for our next generation of doctors can not only be a shining example of a transformative project gone right, but become a model going forward for innovative healthcare development in Nevada and well beyond.”
The Kirk Kerkorian Medical Education Building accommodates a class size of up to 120, doubling the school’s prior capacity. Among its features are training spaces for clinical skills, simulation, and anatomy – both virtual and cadaveric dissection – as well as classrooms designed to support problem-based learning, administrative offices and a learning resources center.
The majority of the project was funded by more than $150 million in private donations, including contributions from the Estate of Kirk Kerkorian and Engelstad Foundation, among others. The state of Nevada contributed $25 million to the project and the largest corporate donation, $1 million, came from Bank of America. The public – private partnership with UNLV enabled the capital project to be built with multiple funding sources and in an efficient and timely manner.
Entering the project, a Brookings Mountain West / Tripp Umbach study found that a new medical school in Las Vegas would equate to people being less likely to leave for medical care and it would be a boon to the economy, equating to an infusion of $1.2 billion per year locally after its first 15 years.
About Nevada Health & Bioscience Corporation
Nevada Health & Bioscience Corporation (NHBC) is a nonprofit organization with the mission of developing healthcare research, education, clinical assets and programming in Nevada. NHBC’s first project, the Kirk Kerkorian Medical Education Building in Las Vegas, opened in October 2022. The nonprofit has received additional funding to build a future ambulatory care clinic and pathology lab on the campus of the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV. More information at nevadahbc.org.
