LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – The University of Nebraska is one step closer to building a new $2.19 billion medical facility at UNMC and Nebraska Medicine following a Board of Trustees meeting Thursday.
The board approved a program statement outlining initial plans for Project Health, a new facility that will serve as a clinical learning center to train the next generation of health care workers, conduct research and offer clinical trials.
With this approval, the board authorized spending $50 million from existing philanthropic funds for non-construction design work, essentially moving the project into the design phase.
The university plans to build Project Health on the medical center's main campus on 7.5 vacant acres formerly used by J.P. Road Elementary School and Munroe Meyer Research Institute, which relocated to Omaha's Ak-Sarben neighborhood in June 2021.
The facility will be Nebraska Medicine's flagship inpatient clinical hospital, with more than 500 beds and will serve as a state-of-the-art clinical learning and research environment.
Rendering of Project Health at the corner of Farnum Street and Saddle Creek Road, University of Nebraska Medical Center | University of Nebraska Medical Center
Project Health is the first phase of Project NExT, a collaboration between UNMC and its lead clinical partner, Nebraska Medicine. The project will be the largest in the university's history, surpassing the $370 million Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Project that began in June 2017.
“Project Health is an incredibly ambitious effort to help Nebraska's rural and urban communities sustain their health care workforce, vital clinical research, and growth trajectory for the next generation of healthcare,” said University of Nebraska President Jeffrey P. Gold. “This first phase is an exciting step forward, and we are excited and grateful to work with so many public and private partners to continue to realize our vision.”
UNMC Interim Chancellor Dele Davis said the public-private partnership project will further UNMC's mission. “To meet the needs of both rural and urban areas of the state, UNMC needs to increase specialized learner enrollment by 20-25 percent,” Dr. Davis said. “This can only be done by making significant improvements to our physical environment.”
Davis said the project includes enhancements to UNMC’s inpatient clinical teaching facilities as well as significant space for teaching and research.
“We are pleased that the Board of Trustees unanimously supported this project,” said Nebraska Medicine CEO and Chairman of the Board James Linder, M.D. “This new facility will enable Nebraska Medicine to fulfill its mission as the primary teaching hospital for UNMC and Clarkson College, strengthening our ability to educate and train more health science students and provide the highest quality health care to all Nebraskans.”
University leaders said they hope the project will increase research opportunities and further strengthen the University of Nebraska's rankings and competitiveness as it seeks to rejoin the Association of American Universities. The project will also reportedly replace a current facility that does not meet today's medical education standards.
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