No casino that we spoke with, or know of, has a first-aid room per se, although every one that we called has the minimum of a first-aid kit, which would most likely be brought to the scene of a medical emergency by a security officer, all of whom have basic first-aid and CPR training. All the properties we spoke with (which included Aladdin, Bally’s, Caesars, El Cortez, Golden Nugget, Las Vegas Hilton, MGM Grand, Monte Carlo, Green Valley Ranch, South Coast, TI, Venetian, and Westin Casuarina) also have AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators), along with staff trained to operate them, in the case of a heart attack. In fact, a recent article in the Wall Street Journal (01/28/2006) revealed the incredible statistic that Las Vegas casinos are actually the safest places in America to suffer a heart attack, with security officers having restored the heartbeats of about 1,800 gamblers and staff over the past nine years. This is thanks largely to a program pioneered by a paramedic named Richard Hardman at the Clark County Fire Department, who first sold the concept of on-site defibrillators and trained security guards to the Boyd Group, a policy that has since been pretty much universally adopted by the city's casinos and is leading the way for other major corporations to adopt the same precautions.
Of those hotels we surveyed, only some, including the entire Harrah's group, plus the Aladdin and Venetian, had Emergency Medical Technicians on staff. These are generally EMT-1 (basic) level, i.e., first responders trained to provide basic emergency medical care at the scene of an accident and while transporting patients by ambulance to the hospital under medical direction. An EMT-1 has the emergency skills to assess a patient's condition and manage respiratory, cardiac, and trauma emergencies, but cannot dispense medication (other than oxygen) or use more complicated equipment than an AED, which requires more advanced training.
The Aladdin, Hilton, and MGM Grand all explained that they have an "in-house" doctor who's available on call (not physically located on property, but usually within a 5- to 15- minute drive away), but this is a very expensive service to use and they recommended, whenever possible, going to the Harmon Medical Center, as did many of the other Strip properties.
Harmon Medical Center is the only independently owned and operated medical facility on the Strip and offers urgent care 24/7. It also has a courtesy van available to collect a patient from their hotel, if necessary. A pharmacy there is open 8 am-11 pm Monday to Friday, 9 am–9 pm Saturday, and 10 am–6 pm on Sunday. An Uninsured Healthcare Program can assist those without medical insurance. The Harmon Medical Center is located at 150 E. Harmon Ave. (just behind the Aladdin) T: 702/732-4007.
In the case of extreme emergency situations that cannot be dealt with on-property or at the Harmon Medical Center, hotel security will call paramedics or an ambulance to take the patient to the nearest hospital, which for those properties located on or near the Strip is the Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, located to the east of the Strip at 3186 S. Maryland Pkwy. In addition to a 24-hour emergency room, Sunrise facilities include a full maternity ward, rehab unit, poison-control center, and children's hospital. For casinos located in the downtown area, the nearest hospitals are the UMC Quick Care Center at 2231 W. Charleston or Valley Hospital at 620 Shadow Lane (just off W. Charleston).
