Nevada gaming regulators recognized MGM Resorts International CEO Bill Hornbuckle and his wife Wendy for leading a philanthropic effort to build the state’s first standalone children’s hospital. Bill and Wendy Hornbuckle have agreed to co-chair the emerging campaign, with the goal of raising more than $1 billion.
“We are honored to have Bill and Wendy Hornbuckle leading this campaign,” said Rob Allen, president and chief executive officer of Intermountain Health. “Their commitment to Nevada’s children will inspire others to join us in this bold vision to build a model health system and healthier future for every child in Nevada. We want every child to have that chance.”
The Hornbuckles have made a lasting mark on the community through their combined and individual efforts, Allen said. “Wendy brings a deep passion for community well-being through her many years of community leadership. Bill began his career in Las Vegas as a room-service attendant and busboy and is now at the helm of Nevada’s largest employer. Together, they’ve dedicated their lives to strengthening Nevada through leadership and philanthropy.”
Nevada ranks 48th in the nation for pediatricians per capita and Las Vegas is the largest metro area in the country without a freestanding children’s hospital. Nearly 30,000 children each year travel outside Nevada for comprehensive specialty care, often leaving families to shoulder costs of transportation, lodging, and lost wages to get their child the treatment they need.
“We’re proud to support Intermountain Health’s vision for healthy children in Nevada, and to help rally our community around this vital cause,” Bill Hornbuckle said. “Like the health of our children, this campaign is bigger than one organization; it’s an investment in Nevada’s families, our friends and neighbors, our future workforce, families, and economic development. It will change lives, and it takes a community to do it.”
Groundbreaking is expected in 2026, with the hospital projected to open by 2030. It would be built at UNLV’s Harry Reid Research and Technology Park.
“As parents and proud Nevadans, we know there’s nothing more important than a child’s health and we’re inspired by Intermountain’s vision to create a place of healing and hope for children and their families,” Wendy Hornbuckle said. “We need to go to work on keeping the 29,000 children who leave the state each year for healthcare here at home.”
At the last meeting of the Nevada Gaming Commission, members praised the Hornbuckles for their efforts. Commissioner George Markantonis applauded what the couple is doing for Las Vegas in the children’s hospital philanthropic effort.
“We are the largest metropolitan area in the country without a single standing children’s hospital,” Hornbuckle said. “Intermountain wants to put a children’s hospital together. We’ve done an arrangement with UNLV and their research center for a piece of land that sits out off the 215 Freeway. We have hope of breaking ground this year for the $1 billion-plus project, and my wife and I agreed to help with this cause. It is desperately needed. I have stories of one of my employees, a pilot, whose son died in his car on the way to UCLA. What happens here in child’s health care cannot continue, so we’ve stepped in and are going to make sure this thing happens.”
