City: Reno, NV

Category: Health Care

Telephone: (775) 982-7000

Address: 10101 Double R Boulevard

Description: Formerly Washoe Medical Center, Renown Regional Medical Center is northern Nevada’s oldest health-care facility. It is also Reno/Tahoe’s largest and most comprehensive acute-care hospital, with the only Level II trauma center, bone-marrow transplant unit, pediatric intensive care unit, and radiation therapy program in the area. It also has centers to treat diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and substance abuse as well as dialysis, surgical, and poison centers. Recognizing that healing has emotional as well as physical aspects, Renown encourages loved ones to become part of the health-care team with its Very Important Partners program and provides interaction with dogs through its Pet Therapy with K-9 Kare. The annual Healing Arts Festival introduces patients, visitors, and staff to a variety of healing arts, including massage therapy, visual and musical arts, and humor. The public is invited to the keynote address, usually held at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts. Past speakers have included best-selling spiritual authors Deepak Chopra and James Van Praagh. Because it’s a large regional complex that serves people from outlying areas as well as locals, Renown has amenities not found in all hospitals. You can rent a hotel room at the inn, enjoy tasty meals in several restaurants, and shop in the boutique, all within the medical campus. There’s also covered parking, a chapel, a pharmacy, and a dry cleaners. The health resource center provides a wealth of information about health care and wellness, with 400 books and periodicals and access to computers. If you’re more comfortable in a small hospital, Renown may seem too large for you. And if you prefer a private room, Renown does not always provide one, but Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center and Northern Nevada Medical Center will. In response to the growth south of Reno, Renown opened a second acute-care hospital on Double R Boulevard with 155 beds and a full complement of medical services. Recent renovations to this medical complex include the 10-story Tahoe Tower, which added 200 ultra-user-friendly patient rooms and 18 more surgical suites, as well as additional ERs and ICU beds. As part of the hospital’s commitment to healing arts it has gathered together 567 major works of art (with the help of local gallery owner Turkey Stremmel) which are tastefully displayed throughout the complex. In many respects, Renown resembles an upscale resort more than a medical center (and probably costs more).