Last week, the Clark County Business License department suspended the business licenses of three
The letters, delivered by hand by business license agents last Tuesday, stated that the suspension is "in response to a concern that a public health emergency exists that poses a significant threat to the citizens of
The suspension notice is effective immediately and will remain in effect until the next meeting of the Clark County Commission on March 18.
The businesses named in the letters are located at
The centers are tied to and managed by the same principals as those overseeing the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, which was identified by the Southern Nevada Health District as the cause of infecting patients with hepatitis C due to unsafe injection practices. The health district is now alerting 40,000 people who were treated at the clinic to be tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
"The practices at their sister facility requires us to take action to protect the public," county commission chairman Rory Reid said. "When dealing with such serious matters it is best to treat each situation with an abundance of caution to minimize the risk to the public."
"The alleged practices of this group are troubling and totally unacceptable," commissioner Bruce Woodbury said. "It is our responsibility to make sure businesses are operating in a safe and lawful manner and we will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that they are."
"These are very serious accusations and call for an equally serious response," said commissioner Weekly, who is also a member of the board of the Southern Nevada Health District. "This gives us time to fully evaluate whether they pose a risk to the community. We are dealing with deadly diseases and so, to put it simply, it is better to be safe than sorry."
Source: Southern Nevada Health District