Nevada is one of the fastest-growing states in the nation. Yet when it comes to children’s healthcare, our families are being left behind.

Right now, countless Nevada families are being told that the specialists their children need simply do not exist here in adequate numbers. Parents are forced to wait months — sometimes over a year — to see an audiologist, speech therapist, ENT, neurologist, or even a general pediatrician. Many families are told their only option is to leave Nevada entirely in order to access basic medical care for their children.

This is not acceptable. No child should have to suffer because our state has failed to recruit, train, and retain the doctors and specialists necessary to meet the needs of its population. No parent should have to choose between uprooting their family or watching their child struggle without care.

Nevada has already acknowledged this crisis through initiatives like Project ECHO, which uses telehealth to train local providers in complex care. While innovative, ECHO is only a partial solution. It cannot replace the urgent need for in-person pediatric specialists. Training programs may share knowledge, but they do not shorten waitlists, expand insurance coverage, or provide hands-on care for Nevada’s children. Families deserve more than a temporary patch — we deserve real, lasting solutions.

I. The Reality in Nevada

 • Nevada ranks 45th in the nation for active physicians per 100,000 residents (Packham, 2023) .
 • Nevada would need 561 more pediatricians statewide, including 388 in Clark County alone, to meet national averages (Packham, 2023) .
 • Nevada has only 52 pediatricians per 100,000 children, compared to a U.S. average of 87 per 100,000 (KTNV, 2023) .
 • All 17 counties in Nevada are federally designated as shortage areas for primary care, mental health, or dental providers (DPBH, n.d.) .
 • Nearly 70% of Nevadans live in primary care shortage areas and 87% in mental health shortage areas (GOWINN, 2023) .
 • Families in Northern Nevada previously reported that 30% of pediatric patients had to leave the region for specialty care, proof of system-wide collapse (Renown, 2024) .

 II. Legal and Regulatory Failures

Nevada’s shortages are not just a moral crisis — they may represent violations of state and federal obligations:
 1. Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 439.150 – Duties of State Board of Health
 • Requires the state to protect and promote the health of Nevada residents. Persistent shortages directly undermine this statutory duty.
 2. Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 422.270 – Medicaid Program
 • Requires Nevada Medicaid to provide access to covered services for eligible children. Extreme shortages and wait times may violate Medicaid’s federal “timely access” requirement.
 3. Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) under Federal Medicaid Law (42 U.S.C. §1396d(r))
 • Nevada must ensure children receive preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services. Months- to year-long waitlists for pediatric specialists represent potential non-compliance.
 4. Nevada’s Constitutional Duty (Nev. Const. art. 4, §38)
 • The Nevada Legislature is empowered — and arguably obligated — to provide for public health and welfare. Systemic shortages that force families out of state show a failure to fulfill this duty.

We, the undersigned, demand action from Nevada’s leaders:
 • Recruit and retain pediatric specialists and general pediatricians through competitive funding, loan forgiveness, and hiring incentives.
 • Expand telehealth access and reimbursement so families aren’t left without care during long waits.
 • Partner with Nevada medical schools to increase residency programs and training pipelines for pediatrics, neurology, audiology, ENT, and speech therapy.
 • Create a statewide task force dedicated to addressing medical workforce shortages that impact children with special needs.

Nevada’s children deserve access to quality care in their own communities. Families should not be forced to cross state lines for their children to survive and thrive.

We call on Nevada’s Legislature, Governor, and health officials to act immediately.

Sign this petition and stand with Nevada families. Together, we can ensure that every child in our state has the right to accessible, timely, and life-changing medical care.

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References
 1. Packham, J. (2023). Nevada Physician Workforce Report. University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine / Nevada Health Workforce Research Center.
https://www.lasvegasheals.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/23-Packham-Nevada-Physician-Workforce-Data-April-2023.pdf
 2. Nevada Public Health Institute. (2022). Physician Workforce in Nevada: A Chartbook.
https://www.nevadapublichealthinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/22-PWIN-Chartbook-FINAL-1-18-22.pdf
 3. Nevada Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation (GOWINN). (2023). Health Workforce in Nevada Chartbook.
https://gowinn.nv.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/23-HWIN-Chartbook-Final-May-2023.pdf
 4. Nevada Department of Public and Behavioral Health. (n.d.). Health Professional Shortage Area Designations in Nevada.
https://www.dpbh.nv.gov/programs/health-professional-shortage-area-designations-home/
 5. KTNV. (2023, July 26). Hope for Nevada’s healthcare shortage: More graduates are staying in the Silver State.
https://www.ktnv.com/news/hope-for-nevadas-healthcare-shortage-more-graduates-are-staying-in-the-silver-state
 6. Renown Health. (2024, June). First Pediatric Physician Residents Accepted Into New Program.
https://www.renown.org/about/newsroom/first-pediatric-physician-residents-accepted-into-new-program
 7. Associated Press. (2024, May 29). Nevada governor signs order to address health worker shortages, especially in rural areas.
https://apnews.com/article/a1ba76ab82b1da988b95b357b123e0ac