Without a doubt, this is the most challenging time to live and work in Nevada. Between the housing crisis, the medical crisis and the economic slowdown, taxpayers in this state are being squeezed by special interests to cough up even more money to solve problems best addressed by the free market. Luckily, the man affectionately known as Dr. Jack is prescribing a Republican course of treatment for such a diagnosis.

Jack Surpure and his wife have lived in Las Vegas since 1992, with the last 10 years in Summerlin. A practicing physician specializing in pediatric emergency medicine, Dr. Jack is more than qualified to help cure what currently ails Nevadans, particularly on the issue of health care. He was a tenured faculty member at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and serves as a clinical professor at UNLV, and knows that a complete overhaul of our educational system is necessary to bring order out of chaos. He is the only candidate with the educational experience to effectively and accurately represent his district in Carson City.

After talking at length with Surpure, Liberty Watch came away with the impression that Dr. Jack is someone who cares deeply about his community. The following pages of our in-depth interview are enough convince us, and hopefully our readers, that he can make a positive contribution.

Let�s start with the most basic of questions. Why are you running for State Assembly?
Because I care deeply about this community and I see areas where my experience, education and expertise can make a positive difference.

How long have you been a doctor?
In Clark County, I have been practicing since 1992, which is 16 years. But I finished my residency in 1975 and served on the Oklahoma faculty for 15 years.

How important is the concept of family to you?
Well, I�ve been married for 40 years with two sons. One is a lawyer who attended law school at Columbia and graduated from Brown, and the other is a surgeon. And obviously, I�m a pediatric specialist, so I�d say I�m definitely family-oriented. I firmly believe in the importance and centrality of the family.

What are some of the important issues you�d like to address once you�re elected?
Of course, I have spent all my life in the medical field and in education and training, so I would like to see some significant changes, particularly in regards to the medical crisis going on in the Las Vegas area. I want to make sure the current crisis doesn�t happen again, so we need stronger legislation to see that compliance is executed in a stronger way. There are several other issues, too. For example, immunization and preventative care for all children in this state, whether a child is a Medicaid patient or an insurance patient. Naturally, I want to make sure insurance companies actually pay the state. And then medical education is another big issue. I want to facilitate research and teaching, and encourage the Board of Regents to bring all the institutions together under one umbrella, which will help reduce costs.

In our state, we have a few public hospitals. How would we staff hospitals in rural Nevada?
That�s always been a complex issue. Most doctors don�t want to go to rural areas for obvious reasons. Even in Las Vegas, it�s difficult to staff hospitals, and it is hard to attract people. But there are ways to make these positions more attractive. For example, medical school students could be required to serve in rural areas.

It seems in Nevada that we�re not able to deliver medicine, even to people who have insurance. Is it the insurance companies that deserve the blame? Is it the lack of good doctors? What�s your opinion?
It�s several issues, and the problem is very complex. Medical care is not bad in Las Vegas but, when you go to rural areas, good medical care is not always readily available. Trauma care is excellent in Las Vegas, however, yet anything beyond that needs work. We could easily improve medical education in Nevada and attract more and better physicians. The medical school here in Las Vegas is 30 years old, and they don�t even have their own building. These things need to be changed. The school gets some funding from the state, sure, but not to any real extent. UMC is a county hospital, and so it receives county funding. But just take the cardiology program, for example. UMC has a contract for millions but, for the same amount of money, the medical school could hire a good faculty and attract even more doctors.

The county hospital [UMC] over the last 48 months has had a consistent hemorrhaging. How are we going to resolve this?
UMC has always been a problem. They can do several things. There�s always the profit or nonprofit route, or a board can oversee it more closely or whatever. Another option would be to give UMC over to the medical school, and let it be a place of learning and research and training. They can advocate doing it with a nonprofit, appoint a provost or vice president, and then bring it under one umbrella. This isn�t a new idea or anything. This has been done in other places. But the main idea is to provide good medical education and services, that way you can resolve the shortage of physicians in this state.

You live in the most conservative Republican district in the state. They don�t want taxes in Assembly District 2. 
Taxes, once they goes up, they never go down. I don�t believe in taxes. You can always trim the fat, and work within a budget, like any family.

What�s your first priority as a state assemblyman?
Immunization would be my first priority. I don�t believe in a universal healthcare system, but our children are our future. They need to be immunized, and they need healthcare. Medical education would be my other area of focus. 

How do you respond to those who want to constantly throw money at the problem of education in Nevada?
Education is important, but educators need to work within a budget like anyone else. If I�m a household owner, I change my priorities as I go along. Innovative approaches to funding need to be utilized. We must examine how current monies are being spent in regards to administrators versus teachers and administrative costs versus educational needs.

What is your attitude toward Homeowner Associations? Your district has the most HOAs in all of Nevada, and the issue is probably more complex than the medical situations.
Look, I happen to know a lot about HOAs, because my wife used to serve on an HOA board. So we know that HOAs can sometimes run themselves like dictatorships. They don�t realize they�re there to serve homeowners. Maybe it�s walls surrounding the communities that make them do things that aren�t very practical. HOAs need to change their attitude. That attitude is due for a change.

Could we be doing better with our prescription drug distribution?
Yes � but there are no easy solutions. Costs of developing drugs are high, but the costs that the companies charge are excessive. Insurance companies will not pay, so consumers are left with the difference. In this instance, I believe that some price restrictions need to be implemented so that essential drugs and services remain affordable.

What about the housing crisis? Unscrupulous people gave out loans called ARMs or adjustable rate mortgages. People can�t refinance now because banks are afraid to give out loans.
The market is correcting itself, as it should, which is the only solution. The speculators are leaving town. You�re supporting the speculators if you do anything else like bail out the banks with taxpayer money.

Another problem in rural Nevada is meth abuse. Seventy-five percent of arrests in rural Nevada are meth busts.
I saw quite a few cases of meth abuse when I was at UMC. Other drugs are a problem, too. Young people need to be educated, that�s the way I look at it. Education in high school is crucial, because educated people tend to make better decisions. 

For volunteer opportunities or more information on Dr. Jack Surprure, please visit www.drjacksurpure.com or call 233-0174.