FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, January 16, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Culinary Union hosts official groundbreaking for the fourth cutting-edge Culinary Health Center in the Las Vegas Valley
Milestone advances vision of four Culinary Health Centers, establishing the Culinary Health Fund as one of Las Vegas’ largest primary care providers for tens of thousands of hospitality workers and their families across Southern Nevada.
PHOTOS, LIVESTREAM, & BROLL from the Culinary Health Center – Tropicana groundbreaking
Las Vegas, NV – On Thursday, January 16th, 2025, the Culinary and Bartenders Union’s along with the Culinary Health Fund proudly hosted the official groundbreaking for the fourth cutting-edge Culinary Health Center located just a few miles from the Las Vegas Strip. The innovative, high-quality facility will provide increased access to primary and preventive care to tens of thousands of eligible Culinary and Bartenders Union members and their families. The brand-new facility is currently being built from the ground up at 4805 West Tropicana Avenue and will officially open its doors next year in 2026. This April, the third Culinary Health Center - Craig will open its doors to Culinary Union members and their families.
The Culinary Health Fund’s groundbreaking ceremony marked the continued focus on bringing the best in health care to Culinary Union members and their families. To commemorate the milestone, D. Taylor (UNITE HERE President Emeritus), Ted Pappageorge (Secretary-Treasurer of the Culinary Union), Diana Valles (President of the Culinary Union), Jesus Vidueira (President of the Culinary Health Fund), Cynthia Kiser Murphey (Culinary Health Fund Board Trustee Member), and State Senator Fabian Donate (SD10) provided remarks and participated in a celebratory groundbreaking with Culinary Union members, Culinary Health Fund patients, Culinary Health Fund staff, and community partners.
“Culinary Union has a decades-long history of advocating for and winning health care legislation that improves access to quality care, strengthens patient protections, lowers costs, and increases transparency – benefiting the entire state of Nevada and all Nevadans. Today, we are thrilled to celebrate the official groundbreaking of the fourth cutting-edge Culinary Health Center in the Las Vegas Valley. Culinary Health Center - Tropicana represents our unwavering commitment to providing Culinary Union members and their families with accessible, high-quality health care, including dental care, primary and pediatric care, and more – just miles from the Las Vegas Strip where the majority of Culinary Union members work,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “Building our own Culinary Health Centers has been a dream for Culinary Union members for decades, and seeing it become a reality each time is deeply emotional and inspiring. With the third Culinary Health Center opening later this year in North Las Vegas and the fourth Culinary Health Center on Tropicana Avenue set to open in 2026, Culinary Union is proud to create a future where working families have the quality healthcare resources they deserve. This groundbreaking is a testament to the strength of Culinary Union members – guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, laundry and kitchen workers – who have fought tirelessly to build and sustain these transformative centers. Today’s milestone brings us closer to achieving the vision of four Culinary Health Centers, making the Culinary Health Fund one of the largest primary care providers in the Las Vegas area, serving tens of thousands of workers and their families across Southern Nevada.”
Culinary Health Center – Tropicana will be a 96,800-square-foot, two-story medical facility that will feature advanced medical equipment, a 2-lane drive-through pharmacy, expanded wellness classrooms, 43 primary care rooms, 3 mental health counseling rooms, 15 dental care rooms, and 18 physical therapy evaluation rooms (including chiropractic and acupuncture). The fourth state-of-the-art Culinary Health Center will offer an on-site laboratory, call center, physical therapy gym, wellness classrooms, and radiology services including x-ray, ultrasound, CT, and bone density tests. Additionally, for the first time, oral surgery will be offered exclusively at Culinary Health Center - Tropicana. All services at the Culinary Health Centers are available at no cost and a select few for very low co-pays to patients.
“The growth of the Culinary Health Center network in Las Vegas allows us to provide more convenient access for Culinary Union members and their families,” said Cynthia Kiser Murphey, Culinary Health Fund Board Trustee Member. “There have been nearly 400,000 primary care visits since launching our first Culinary Health Center in 2017. Opening more Culinary Health Center facilities means offering more options for high-quality health care by esteemed physicians and dedicated medical staff for hospitality workers.”
The Culinary Union’s mission to provide accessible, high-quality health care began with the opening of the first Culinary Health Center - Nellis on June 19, 2017 - the first-of-its-kind in Las Vegas, exclusively serving Culinary Union members and their families. Culinary Health Center - Durango opened its doors on May 3, 2023, expanding access to care for 60,000 hospitality workers and their families. This Spring, the third Culinary Health Center, located in North Las Vegas, will welcome patients, and in the Summer of 2026, the Culinary Health Center - Tropicana will open. With four total locations strategically placed throughout the Las Vegas Valley where Culinary Union members live, hospitality workers and their families will have even greater access to the high-quality care they deserve.
“Located only a few miles from the Las Vegas Strip the Culinary Health Center - Tropicana will provide exclusive services such as oral surgery along with all the treatment areas Culinary Union members have come to utilize at our other Culinary Health Centers. With the opening of the third location in just a few months, there will be even more options to provide quality health care services for hospitality workers and their families,” said Jesus Vidueira, President of the Culinary Health Fund. “We’re so proud of the visionary leaders of the Culinary Union and the Culinary Union Health Fund that have focused efforts to bring some of the most talented medical staff, state-of-the art services, and wellness offerings to ensure our healthcare is best in class. Today with the fourth Culinary Health Center in the pipeline we are closer than ever to achieving this monumental goal!”
Approximately 200 staff will be employed at the Culinary Health Center - Tropicana, including more than 40 health care providers, such as doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, and medical assistants.
“I just love being a patient at the Culinary Health Center,” said Marisela Olvera, an inspector at the Trump Hotel and Culinary Union member for 13 years. “The staff is professional and friendly, and they take the time to explain everything to me clearly, even in my preferred language, Spanish. Before I had Culinary Health Fund benefits, I struggled with the high costs of care while battling cancer. Treatments and co-pays with my previous insurance were impossible to afford. When I started going to the Culinary Health Center around 8 years ago, it was a blessing. The care was immediately affordable, and my doctors guided me through treatment options that helped me beat cancer. I’m proud to say that I’ve been cancer-free for four years now and I continue to visit the Culinary Health Center regularly for checkups and tests. Thanks to my amazing Culinary Union health benefits, I have peace of mind and access to the care I need to stay healthy and I’m so grateful for that every day.”
The Culinary Union, alongside the Culinary Health Fund, is dedicated to helping hospitality workers live healthier lives by working together with medical partners and changing the way health care is delivered to Culinary Union members and their families. The Culinary Health Center is committed to providing high-quality care, better access to medical services, and an exceptional patient experience. Approximately 100,000 patient visits will be provided annually at the Culinary Health Center – Tropicana with nearly 32,000 Culinary Union members who live within proximity.
Culinary Union, along with the Culinary Health Fund and Culinary Health Centers have been building a healthier Nevada since 1935. The Culinary Union, through the Culinary Health Fund, is one of the largest health care consumers in the state. The Culinary Health Fund is sponsored by the Culinary Union and Las Vegas-area employers, and it provides health insurance coverage for over 120,000 Nevadans - the Culinary Union’s 60,000 members and their dependents.
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ABOUT CULINARY UNION:
Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE, represent 60,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including at most of the casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas. UNITE HERE represents 300,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America.
The Culinary Union, through the Culinary Health Fund, is one of the largest healthcare consumers in the state. The Culinary Health Fund is sponsored by the Culinary Union and Las Vegas-area employers. It provides health insurance coverage for over 145,000 Nevadans, the Culinary Union’s members, and their dependents. Culinary Union has a decades-long history of advocating for and winning health care legislation that improves access to quality care, strengthens patient protections, lowers costs, and increases transparency – benefiting the entire state of Nevada and all Nevadans.
The Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest Latinx/Black/AAPI/immigrant organization with members who come from 178 countries and speak over 40 different languages. We are proud to have helped over 18,000 immigrants become American citizens and new voters since 2001 through our affiliate, The Citizenship Project.
The Culinary Union has a diverse membership which is 55% women and 60% immigrants. The demographics of Culinary Union members are approximately: 54% Latinx, 18% white, 15% Asian, 12% Black, and less than 1% Indigenous Peoples.
Culinary Union members work as: Guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, laundry, and kitchen workers. The Culinary Union has been fighting and winning for working families in Nevada for 90 years.
ABOUT CULINARY HEALTH FUND:
The Culinary Health Fund is a Taft-Hartley multi-employer plan established in 1981 and dedicated to providing health coverage for hospitality workers on the Las Vegas Strip, in Downtown Las Vegas, and at Harry Reid International Airport. Culinary Health Fund operates under a collectively bargained agreement between Culinary Workers Union Local 226, the largest union in Nevada, Bartenders Local 165, American Federation of Musicians Local 369, IATSE Local 720, and employer contributors to the Fund – including such Las Vegas landmark institutions as Bellagio, Caesars Palace, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Flamingo, Fremont Hotel & Casino, Golden Nugget, Harrah’s, Horseshoe, Main Street Station Casino, MGM Grand, New York-New York, Palms Casino Resort, Planet Hollywood, and Wynn | Encore.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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