- The Nebraska Board of Regents has authorized the university to explore borrowing up to $500 million for university projects such as UNMC’s new Clinical Learning Facility, Project Health, a $2 billion expansion.
- The UNMC facility will focus on training more medical professionals to meet statewide and national shortages, ensuring Nebraska can retain and attract top talent.
Beyond Omaha, the project aims to serve rural communities by expanding capacity and keeping patients from leaving the state for specialized care.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A massive expansion is on the horizon for the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Thursday state leaders authorized the university to explore borrowing up to $500 million to help fund university construction projects, such as Project Health, the new $2 billion hospital and training facility in Omaha.
Approved in 2024, the new Clinical Learning Facility will prepare the next generation of health professionals. The up to $500M in potential borrowing approved Thursday would help fund the clinical learning facility, known as Project Health, or other UN projects statewide.
“We are not meeting the demand for the state right now,” said Dr. Dele Davies.
Dr. Davies with UNMC says the facility comes at a critical time, as Nebraska’s population ages and the demand for both care and providers grows.
“This is where they would come to get their care and this is where they come already, but this will just allow us to have the capacity to not turn anyone down and not have anyone leave the state,” Davies said.
Davies also emphasized that much of a provider’s training happens outside the classroom.
“Many people may not realize that our health care providers spend only a certain amount of time in the classroom, and a lot of their training occurs in the hospital and clinical settings,” he said.
Beyond creating opportunities for Omaha’s health care professionals, the project is expected to increase access for patients from rural communities. UNMC plans to break ground within the next year, with the 7-year project set to transform the Midtown campus.
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