In its first major foray outside of San Diego, UC San Diego is buying the bankrupt Nevada Cancer Institute in Las Vegas for $18 million, it was reported today.
The university is expected to complete the purchase in one to four weeks, according to U-T San Diego.
Until now, UC San Diego has only purchased a handful of small satellite medical offices rented near Las Vegas and in Riverside and Imperial counties.
UC Regent Charlene Zettel told U-T San Diego that all UC health systems need to look for ways to increase their patient base and optimize resources to stay competitive.
"Patients coming from Nevada would mean better utilization of the state- of-the-art facility we have at UCSD Moores Cancer Center,'' Zettel said. "It also would be a boost for the San Diego economy because patients and families would be staying here. Most importantly, though, patients would get excellent care from some of the best doctors in California.''
The 142,000-square-foot, four-story Nevada Cancer Institute opened in 2005 and has struggled as a small, independent nonprofit, U-T San Diego reported.
