Southern Nevada, long known as Hawaii's "ninth island," is home to Hawaii Pacific University's newest campus.

It's the first time a Hawaii-based university has built a campus outside of the Hawaiian Islands, officials say.

"We're proud and pleased and so excited to be here in Las Vegas, but we're equally proud to represent the place that we come from and the culture and the history of that place (Hawaii)," said Lance Wilhelm, chairman of the university's board of trustees during the campus grand opening Tuesday night. "To become part of our 'ohana' is to become a part of our family, and here's the thing about family: You cannot leave. You're here with us now, and you will be with us for a long, long time."

Hawaii Pacific University is a private, nonprofit institution established in 1965 on the island of Oahu. It enrolls over 4,800 students.

The Las Vegas campus, based in the southwest valley near the UFC Apex, began hosting doctor of occupational therapy students in 2024 and then welcomed an inaugural cohort of physical therapy doctoral students last month, university officials said.

Las Vegas was eyed for expansion for several reasons, Hawaii Pacific University President John Gotanda said. The large population of native Hawaiians in Southern Nevada was a draw, but much like Hawaii, Las Vegas is also a destination and cross-cultural hub, he said.

The U.S. Census Bureau's decennial census in 2020 found that 20,572 people in Clark County identified as native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and it estimated they made up 1% of Clark County's 2,336,573 residents in 2023. Many from the islands vacation here.

Gotanda said the region was also "perfect" for their hybrid medical programs because of how accessible Las Vegas is from other major metropolitan cities. He added that the state's dire need for health care professionals became another reason to place roots in Las Vegas.

Nevada ranked 45th in 2022 for the number of employed registered nurses per 1,000 people, with about eight nurses for every 1,000 residents -- surpassing neighboring Idaho, but behind Arizona, California, Oregon and Utah.

A 2023 study published in the National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine said the state "faces a healthcare crisis," and needs an additional 2,561 physicians in the health care workforce to meet the national standards.

"We saw a real need, not only in Nevada but really in the whole western region for physical therapy and occupational therapy," Gotanda said. "These programs have been very successful for us in Hawaii, and we looked to see if we would want to expand, and it was perfect for expanding outside of Hawaii."

The Hawaii Pacific University building was intentionally made to fit whatever students may need to help with their education, said Tricia Catalino, dean of the Graduate College of Health Sciences.

One of those features is an "activities of daily living suite," where students in the doctor of occupational therapy program can learn how to help their future patients -- like those who've experienced a stroke -- perform tasks like how to take care of themselves. The room is outfitted to mirror a typical apartment.

The Las Vegas campus has 24 students in the occupational therapy doctoral program and 50 in physical therapy doctoral studies. The programs can expand to accommodate 60 and 100 students respectively, Catalino said.

Gotanda wants to work with more health care providers in Southern Nevada to increase the chances for students to do internships and other public services. He also sees partnerships that can bring students from Hawaii to Las Vegas for learning opportunities such as sports management; one such course is already planned for the near future, he said.

For Catalino, the opening of this new campus "is a dream come true." She has called Southern Nevada home since 2011 and spent the past six years occasionally commuting between Las Vegas and Honolulu to help lead the doctor of physical therapy program at Hawaii Pacific.

"There is a really strong connection between the state of Hawaii and the Las Vegas Valley, so it seemed like a very natural place for Hawaii to make its very first expansion onto the continental U.S., and we know that a lot of the physicians who train here, especially do their residencies here, do end up staying close to where they complete that," Catalino said. "I think we're laying such a wonderful foundation here (and) what I'm looking forward to is growing our program, really welcoming more students."