In 2014, Nevada took a major step to expand its commitment to strengthening the physician workforce when Governor Brian Sandoval issued Executive Order 2014-17, creating the Task Force on Graduate Medical Education (GME). The Task Force was charged with recommending ways to expand Nevada’s graduate medical workforce. Its report called for funding additional residency slots and making support available to both public and private institutions to expand or create new GME programs.
Acting on these recommendations, Governor Sandoval requested—and the Legislature approved—$10 million in funding ($5 million in FY2016 and $5 million in FY2017). These funds prioritized residency slots in primary care and mental health. In 2015, Executive Order 2015 30 reestablished the GME Task Force as an advisory body to guide how the Legislature’s funding should be distributed. The Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation and Technology (OSIT) was then directed to manage the grant process and report on outcomes.
On June 12, 2023, the GME Advisory Council and grant program were formally established in state law (
NRS 223.600), with annual reporting requirements. Two years later, on June 11, 2025,
Senate Bill 262 transferred program management from OSIT to the Department of Health and Human Services and prohibited grant recipients from reducing or eliminating the size of GME programs. During that same 2025 legislative session,
Senate Bill 494 moved the program to the newly created Nevada Health Authority, where it continues today.