‍

UMC has provided life-changing care for the people of Southern Nevada since 1931, starting as a one-room hospital staffed by one doctor and one nurse. Like many treasured Las Vegas institutions, UMC came from humble beginnings, growing alongside its hometown to meet the needs of community members.

‍

What began as a small, single building on a dusty dirt road has evolved over the decades to become a sprawling 26-acre complex of clinical excellence. Today, UMC’s flagship hospital campus offers Nevada’s only Level I Trauma Center, Verified Burn Center and transplant center, in addition to the only children’s hospital of its kind in the Silver State.

‍

These exclusive services continue to provide life-saving outcomes for community members and visitors. The UMC Trauma Center, which serves patients in a 10,000-square-mile area, offers an impressive survival rate of 97.1 percent among patients who arrive with vital signs. This survival rate is even higher among pediatric patients, reaching 99.2 percent.

‍

UMC CEO Mason Van Houweling explained that UMC has earned its reputation as a beacon of hope for community members during their greatest moments of need. From the MGM Grand fire in 1980 to the One October shooting 37 years later, UMC’s team has responded to Southern Nevada’s darkest hours with a combination of unparalleled clinical expertise and heartfelt compassion.

‍

People look to us to help save their lives and care for their family members. We are here to serve, and nobody does it better than UMC. That doesn’t happen without great team members.”

‍

‍

“As Southern Nevada’s hometown hospital, UMC is held to a higher standard in our community,” Van Houweling said. “People look to us to help save their lives and care for their family members. We are here to serve, and nobody does it better than UMC. That doesn’t happen without great team members.”

‍

‍

UMC’s team has expanded from two employees in 1931 to nearly 5,000 today. In 2025, UMC received national recognition from Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the 150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare.

‍

In recent years, UMC has become a trusted national leader in many key clinical services. The UMC Transplant Center, introduced in 1989, now consistently ranks among the top kidney transplant programs in the nation. UMC performed a total of 188 organ transplants in 2024, more than triple the number of transplants performed annually prior to 2020.

‍

The hospital introduced a new pancreas transplant program in 2023, further expanding access to care for Nevadans. Looking to the future, UMC continues to work toward the introduction of a liver transplant program.

‍

This year, UMC completed the largest renovation project in the hospital’s history, completely transforming its campus with modernized features. The project included redesigning the exterior facades across every building on UMC’s campus, along with new lighting, landscaping, upgraded parking lots, and improved pedestrian and vehicle access. In addition, UMC created two on-campus healing gardens for patients and visitors.

‍

During a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly upgraded campus in May, Van Houweling stood just a few hundred feet from the original site of UMC’s 1931 hospital building, ushering in a new era for UMC while reflecting on its rich history.

‍

We’ve grown to become a nationally recognized leader in health care, serving one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. We’ve come a long way, and we look forward to the next 100 years of community-focused care at UMC.”

‍

‍

“Nearly a century ago, UMC began by caring for the workers constructing the Boulder Dam, now known as the Hoover Dam,” Van Houweling said. “In the years since, we’ve grown to become a nationally recognized leader in health care, serving one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. We’ve come a long way, and we look forward to the next 100 years of community-focused care at UMC.”