Editor's note: This story was originally published in Health Care Headliners, a magazine meant to introduce the community to the people making a big difference in local health care. The doctors honored in the magazine come from nominations accepted by VEGAS INC.
The contributions of Charles Perry to improving health care — in particular, post-acute health care in Nevada — are numerous.
Perry has lived a life dedicated to health care and Nevada. He has been closely involved with the long-term care profession in Nevada since 1975 when he came to Las Vegas as a founding partner of Quality Care Inc. to oversee operations at the Vegas Valley Convalescent Hospital from 1975 to 1984. He served as president of the Nevada Health Care Association (NVHCA) from 1976 to 1978 and went on to chair the association’s government affairs committee.
In 1982, Perry was elected to the Nevada Assembly and served in the 1983 regular session and the 1984 special session. A year later, he and his association built the Henderson Convalescent Hospital.
Perry once again served as president of the NVHCA from 1988 to 1992. In 1991, he opened a major addition to the Henderson Convalescent Hospital. He continued his work in dedication to post-acute health care in the state, serving yet again as president and chief legislative liaison of the NVHCA from 2000 through 2012.
In 2012, Perry founded what was later named the Perry Foundation in order to promote post-acute health care in Nevada. He currently is chairman of the board. The foundation works with the post-acute care community to build integrity, efficiency, and service excellence for Nevada’s post-acute care consumers and providers. This is achieved through community awareness and donor support.
In 2013, the foundation integrated educational offerings for caregivers in the assisted living and residential facilities for groups and communities. Last year, it launched an e-learning platform that includes live webinars and a webinar-on-demand format to give caregivers another choice for their educational delivery. All courses are approved for continuing education units by numerous licensing boards, depending on the course offered.
“Looking back over my career… I have always tried to hold up our part of the health care delivery system as a profession, and not simply a means to make a living,” Perry said. “Essentially, being in health care is all that I have ever done. This is what I do. I am proud to have had the opportunity to be in the business. I have never thought about doing anything else. I like what I do and I like what I’ve had the opportunity to do over the years.”
Perry considers one of his great accomplishments “becoming pretty much the face, if you will, of the profession. I was one of the first in the state to get involved in lobbying activity for the post-acute community. For years and years, when I would go to the legislature, people might ask who I was, and no one would know. But if you asked about ‘the nursing home guy,’ everyone knew who you were talking about.”
Characteristically, Perry is looking squarely ahead. “The big goal I have moving forward is continuing to promote the work of the Perry Foundation in providing world-class, evidence-based programs to improve the level of care in this profession. We have got to continue to raise the bar on the level of services we provide to those who are receiving care.”
Perry says he has always believed, and continues to believe, that “the care people receive and the health care services we provide are sorely needed. They have inherent value and worth, and we need to deliver the absolute best that we can.” His personal life “has always revolved around my business identity. I have identified myself in both my personal and professional life based on my commitment to and support of delivering this care. All day, every day of my life since 1967, I am totally committed to this profession.”
By being a part of his profession, he said, “you can take some satisfaction in the fact that you helped make someone's life a little bit better that day, better than it would have been otherwise.”