Leveraging Military–Civilian Partnerships in Crisis: A Case Study of the Las Vegas Response to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed critical vulnerabilities in civilian healthcare surge capacity, highlighting the potential for military–civilian partnerships (MCPs) to augment public health emergency responses. The Las Vegas Military–Civilian Partnership (LV MCP), a unique collaboration, offers a case study of such integration. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the LV MCP, specifically the workload of US Air Force (USAF) pulmonary and critical care medicine (PCCM) physicians, on the Las Vegas civilian healthcare system during the COVID-19 pandemic. This retrospective review analyzed USAF PCCM physician workload data at University Medical Center (UMC) of Southern Nevada from 2019 to 2023. Data included critical care encounters (CPT codes 99291 and 99292) and COVID-19 encounters (ICD-10 coding). Staffing of 5 USAF PCCM physicians was maintained, with 7 individuals rotating. We assessed changes in the volume of critical care and COVID-19-specific encounters managed by USAF PCCM physicians at UMC. Analysis indicated USAF PCCM physicians reported 19,155 encounters between 2019 and 2023. Encounters peaked at 4,648 in 2020, then declined to 3,155 by 2023. From 2019 to 2020, critical care encounters increased by 1,180, from 1,010 to 2,190. In 2020, 846 (38.6%) of the 2,190 critical care encounters were COVID-19-related. The highest workload occurred during 2020 and 2021, aligning with COVID-19 surges. Of the 2,914 COVID-19-related encounters, 1,892 (64.9%) were classified as critical care—reflecting strong response capability and return to baseline operations. The LV MCP is an effective model for military medical support during a protracted public health crisis. Its preexisting, integrated structure enabled a rapid and sustained surge response, significantly increasing critical care capacity in a medically underserved region without requiring ad hoc federal deployments or DSCA. This underscores the value of embedded military–civilian partnerships as a resilient, efficient strategy for future emergency preparedness, advocating comprehensive data collection to inform integrated responses.