Nevada Briefs - September 2004

Nevada Briefs

Nevada Companies Receive Safety Honors

RR Donnelley was recently honored as a recipient of the state’s Voluntary Protection Program VPP Star. RR Donnelley, the nation’s largest printer, employs 400 people at its Reno facility, which produces, prints and distributes newspaper and magazine inserts. Manufacturers earn VPP status by working with employees to achieve a safety program that is exemplary and a lost-workday incident rate far below the national average. Two other firms have been recognized by the Safety Consultation and Training Section (SCATS) of Nevada’s Division of Industrial Relations for successful completion of the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP). The no-cost SHARP program assists small employers (those with fewer than 250 employees) to develop and implement safety and health programs. Successful SHARP participants receive a two-year exemption from OSHA’s regularly scheduled inspections. The companies recognized were Ralston Foods and Basalite Concrete Products. Ralston Foods, based in Sparks, manufactures and sells cereals and cereal-based snack mixes. Basalite Concrete Products, in Carson City, manufactures and distributes concrete products, including concrete block, to a multi-state region.

Lake Tahoe Mortgage Opens Reno Office

Lake Tahoe Mortgage, which has offices in Tahoe City and Truckee, Calif., has expanded its Reno operations with a new office facility at 6940 S. McCarran in the Quail Park office complex. The full-service operation will support ongoing business expansion in Reno and the Carson Valley. The office houses seven loan officers and a loan-processing operation. The company has also purchased additional space in the Carson Valley, and is constructing an office near Minden that will serve the Carson Valley when completed.

Labor Commissioner Issues New Regulations

Nevada Labor Commissioner Terry Johnson recently adopted the first-ever regulations for Wage and Hour Administration in Nevada. The regulations took effect on August 25. The regulations, issued after a series of public hearings, contain provisions covering such subjects as: payment of wages via electronic debit cards; determining which workers are independent contractors; and illegal deductions from employees’ paychecks. The regulations also provide further definition and detail on commissions, travel, training, uniforms, breaks and salaried-versus-hourly wage payments. For more information, or to access the regulations in their entirety, employers may log on to LaborCommissioner.com.

New Hospital Planned for Henderson

HCA Inc.(Hospital Corporation of America), which currently owns three hospitals in Southern Nevada, is planning to build a fourth in Henderson. It purchased a 41-acre parcel of land this summer just north of I-215 at Stephanie Street. Nashville-based HCA, which owns Sunrise Hospital, MountainView Hospital and the recently-opened Southern Hills Hospital, has not announced definite plans for the new facility. However, Brian Robinson, president and CEO of Sunrise Hospital and market president for HCA in Southern Nevada, said the site will include a full-service hospital, outpatient surgery center and medical office building. Construction is slated to begin early in 2005.

Cement Plant Planned for Tribal Land

The Ash Grove Cement Company, the fourth-largest cement manufacturer in the U.S., has signed an agreement with the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians to construct a $250 million facility on tribal land 40 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Ash Grove, based in Overland, Kan., presently supplies cement to Southern Nevada’s booming construction industry by shipping it from plants in Oregon and Utah. The new facility will employ over 100 people and is expected to produce 1.5 million tons of cement a year, using limestone deposits located on the tribal land, mixed with other minerals. Company officials speculate the site has enough limestone to supply its needs for 100 years. Permitting for the land is expected to take at least a year, with actual construction slated to begin in early 2006.

Surgical Hospital Underway in Carson City

The doctors who own and manage Carson Ambulatory Surgery Center (CASCI) and Carson-Tahoe Hospital are building a new hospital in Carson City, to be called Sierra Surgery & Imaging. The new surgical hospital, with a projected opening in the first quarter of 2005, will replace CASCI. The new center will handle outpatient surgeries, inpatient surgeries requiring extended recovery, comprehensive radiology and the Sierra Outpatient Women’s Center. Sierra Surgery & Imaging will focus on the following outpatient and inpatient specialties: gynecology, general surgery, urology, orthopedic and spine, hand and plastics, dental, ophthalmology, ear/nose/throat and pain management. In addition, a comprehensive radiology department will include: general radiology, MRI & CT scanning, ultrasound, radiology fluoroscopy and bone density.