Back when I was considering leaving my job as dean of the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona to come to Las Vegas to take the helm as president at UNLV, I was attracted by the clear, exciting future that both UNLV and Las Vegas were steadily heading into together.

On Sept. 4, the Lincy Institute hosted a community forum detailing the health and economic benefits of a stand-alone children’s hospital in Southern Nevada. Today, Las Vegas is the only metropolitan region in the nation with over 2 million people that is missing such a critical health care asset.

Utah’s largest healthcare provider, Intermountain Healthcare, has shown interest in partnering on a stand-alone children’s hospital project in Southern Nevada. That’s according to a new study conducted by Tripp Umbach for UNLV’s Lincy Institute, which looked at the need for a full-service independent children’s hospital.

The Lincy Institute, the public policy think tank at UNLV, on Wednesday sponsored a discussion centered on a report from Tripp Umbach analyzing the feasibility of establishing a primary children’s hospital in Southern Nevada. Tripp Umbach has completed over 200 independent studies, including for 25 children’s hospitals, and regularly conducts research in Southern Nevada with the Lincy Institute.