Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 14–Senators Care, Amodei, Carlton, Cegavske, Coffin, Hardy, Mathews, McGinness, Neal, Nolan, O’Connell, Raggio, Rawson, Rhoads, Schneider, Shaffer, Tiffany, Titus, Townsend, Washington and Wiener

 

March 6, 2003

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Joint Sponsors: Assemblymen Goldwater, Anderson, Andonov, Angle, Arberry, Atkinson, Beers, Brown, Buckley, Carpenter, Chowning, Christensen, Claborn, Collins, Conklin, Geddes, Gibbons, Giunchigliani, Goicoechea, Grady, Griffin, Gustavson, Hardy, Hettrick, Horne, Knecht, Koivisto, Leslie, Mabey, Manendo, Marvel, McClain, McCleary, Mortenson, Oceguera, Ohrenschall, Parks, Perkins, Pierce, Sherer, Weber and Williams

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Read and Adopted

 

SUMMARY—Memorializes prominent physician and philanthropist Elias Ghanem. (BDR R‑32)

 

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

 

Senate Concurrent RESOLUTION—Memorializing prominent physician and philanthropist Elias Ghanem.

 

1-1  Whereas, The members of the Nevada State Legislature join

1-2  the people of the State of Nevada to celebrate the life and mourn the

1-3  loss of Elias Ghanem who passed away on August 27, 2001; and

1-4  Whereas, Elias Ghanem, known for his skill and caring as a

1-5  physician and for his spirit of generosity, was born on March 12,

1-6  1939, in Haifa, Israel, and was a 30-year resident of Las Vegas; and

1-7  Whereas, Elias Ghanem arrived in the United States in 1963

1-8  looking for the American Dream, with little more than $90 to his

1-9  name and a scholarship to a North Carolina college, and at times

2-1  lived out of his car while subsequently working his way through

2-2  Duke University School of Medicine; and

2-3  Whereas, After interning at the University of Southern

2-4  California, Elias Ghanem journeyed to Las Vegas in 1971 to

2-5  become an emergency room physician at Sunrise Hospital,

2-6  beginning what was to be a long and illustrious career in the medical

2-7  field; and

2-8  Whereas, A few years later, Dr. Ghanem began his own family

2-9  practice, and beginning in 1977, he opened the first of several

2-10  24-hour clinics, Las Vegas Medical Centers, to serve the people of

2-11  Las Vegas; and

2-12      Whereas, After serving as the hotel doctor for the Las Vegas

2-13  Hilton, Dr. Ghanem became known as the “physician to the stars”

2-14  because he became the personal physician to such celebrities as

2-15  Elvis Presley, Liberace, Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, Ann-Margret,

2-16  Wayne Newton and Virginia Kelley, the mother of former President

2-17  Bill Clinton; and

2-18      Whereas, Dr. Ghanem cared for patients from every walk of

2-19  life, including casino workers, culinary workers and teachers, and

2-20  was known for treating everyone with the same care and dignity,

2-21  whether the patient be poor and homeless or a celebrity; and

2-22      Whereas, During the 6-year strike at the Frontier Hotel, one of

2-23  the longest labor disputes in the history of this country, Dr. Ghanem

2-24  provided free medical care and delivered more than 100 babies for

2-25  the striking workers; and

2-26      Whereas, Through the Elias F. Ghanem Medical Scholarship

2-27  Fund, there are many more doctors and nurses in the medical field to

2-28  carry on his legacy of dedicated medical care; and

2-29      Whereas, Elias Ghanem, known for his generous nature and

2-30  charm, lived life to the fullest, was fluent in French, Arabic, English

2-31  and Hebrew, and immersed himself in the worlds of medicine,

2-32  politics, philanthropy, entertainment and sports, especially boxing;

2-33  and

2-34      Whereas, During his 14-year tenure on the Nevada Athletic

2-35  Commission, Elias Ghanem served intermittently as Chairman, with

2-36  Nevada hosting an unprecedented number of major championship

2-37  fights which were televised throughout the world and which broke

2-38  records for gross paid gates, increasing the visibility and enhancing

2-39  the reputation of the State of Nevada as a force in the world of

2-40  professional boxing; and

2-41      Whereas, As the Commissioner of the Nevada Athletic

2-42  Commission, Elias Ghanem was largely attributed with raising the

2-43  stature of boxing in Nevada by implementing health and safety

2-44  procedures which have been adopted throughout the boxing world,

2-45  such as mandating that all boxing rings in Nevada have four ropes,

3-1  instead of three, to prevent fighters from sustaining serious injury

3-2  from falling through the ropes, and mandating the testing of boxers

3-3  for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C; and

3-4  Whereas, Among his many awards, Elias Ghanem was the

3-5  recipient of the University of Nevada Distinguished Nevadan

3-6  Award, the Victor Award for his contribution to sports, and was

3-7  named “Man of the Year” for the National Jewish Hospital and

3-8  American Jewish Committee; and

3-9  Whereas, Elias Ghanem is survived by his wife, Jody,

3-10  daughter, Crystal Ann, sons, Elias II and Farid, brother, Nasser, and

3-11  six nieces, all of Las Vegas; now, therefore, be it

3-12      Resolved by the Senate of the State of Nevada, the

3-13  Assembly Concurring, That the members of the 72nd Session of

3-14  the Nevada Legislature do hereby extend their sincere condolences

3-15  to the family and friends of Elias Ghanem; and be it further

3-16      Resolved, That the residents of the State of Nevada will miss

3-17  the compassion, generosity and enthusiasm of Elias Ghanem; and be

3-18  it further

3-19      Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and

3-20  transmit a copy of this resolution to Elias Ghanem’s loving wife,

3-21  Jody.

 

3-22  H