Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield announced a $2 million commitment Wednesday to create a permanent endowment funding a two-year rheumatology fellowship at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV. The gift aims to address a critical shortage of specialists in Southern Nevada, where there is currently only one rheumatologist for every 125,000 residents, ranking the state 49th nationally in availability.
"With this investment, we were looking for a way to ensure that it would pay dividends over time," said Joy Thomas, president and CEO of government business at Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Nevada. "By supporting medical training in Southern Nevada, we are ensuring that those services will be offered here." Thomas noted the endowment has been two years in the making.
Dr. Kate Martin, senior associate dean for graduate medical education at the medical school, called the commitment "monumental" for Nevada's population. "It is a way to ensure that we will continue to have a supply of rheumatologists in our community in perpetuity forever," she said. UNLV Health President and CEO Joann Strobbe described the gift as "transformational" given the state's ranking.
Rheumatologists treat autoimmune and inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, where timely access is critical to managing symptoms and preventing complications. A study published in Arthritis Care & Research projects Nevada will have the nation's third-lowest rheumatologist workforce adequacy by 2037, at just 44.4 percent of needed capacity. Fellows will train under existing rheumatologists at the medical school with the goal of remaining in the community.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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