Statement of the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health:
The Division treats every event as an opportunity to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of
protocols and procedures.
The licensing agency did its due diligence to investigate Dr. Scoccia’s business background as
authorized by state law and within the capabilities of the agency.The licensing agency should
not dilute its efforts to ensure quality of care and services by attempting to review financial
aspects of a particular operator that may change over time. Rather the licensing agency should
continue to leave the main focus of financial reviews to entities with the ability to determine
financial solvency (financial entities approving loans, vendors providing goods and services,
etc.), while the licensing agency remains focused on the ability of the facility to provide services
in accordance with regulatory requirements. Even when the two intersect financial insolvency
and inability to provide services, the licensing agency would only make citations regarding the
inability to provide services as financial insolvency may or may not be remedied.
The previous owners of Nye Regional Medical Center should necessarily have done their
diligence to determine whether Dr. Scoccia was a wise choice to receive ownership of the
facility. This is a situation of seller beware, especially since the former owners were a municipal
entity (the County). However, there’s no evidence that Nye County was unhappy with Dr.
Scoccia’s operation even during the first several years after his acquisition of the facility. Rather
over time, things became progressively worse and the general economy may (or may not) have
contributed to the situation.