Annual Pub 2023 FINAL - Flipbook - Page 16
K I R K K E R K O R I A N S C H O O L O F M E D I C I N E AT U N LV
THE DREAM OF
ACADEMIC HEALTH
B Y PA U L H A R A S I M
hey train and educate the healthcare workforce,
conduct biomedical research, care for the most
complex and vulnerable populations 3 it is not
hyperbole to say that academic health centers
(AHCs) throughout the United States enhance
the quality of life and save the lives of millions of
Americans each year.
T
When discussing just cancer and cardiovascular disease alone,
studies show research and patient care carried out through AHCs
have saved 2.4 million lives of people dealing with cancer between
1991 and 2019 and decreased deaths from heart disease between
1969 and 2015 by 68 percent. AHCs are organizations having one
or more medical schools, one or more other health professional
schools or programs, and one or more a٠恩liated teaching hospitals.
Studies show patients treated in AHCs have up to a 20 percent
higher likelihood of survival.
With the new Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV as its
anchor, the formation of the Las Vegas Valley9s 昀rst AHC is no
longer just a dream, but a reality waiting to happen.
Notes Marc J. Kahn, MD, dean of the medical school that saw its
昀rst class matriculate in 2017:
