Our Expertise
Two decades of emergency preparedness
Building the Foundation for Health Security
The Global Center for Health Security (GCHS) is a culmination of 20 years of persistence, planning, and training at UNMC to build emergency preparedness capacity. The Nebraska Public Health Laboratory was established at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 1997 through a cooperative agreement between the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and Nebraska Medicine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided grant funding for testing of bio-threat and chemical agents.
Creating a National Biocontainment Leader
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, UNMC was among several entities nationwide to receive federal funding for bioterrorism preparedness. In 2004, UNMC, in conjunction with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, and Nebraska Medicine, began planning the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit. It opened in 2005, as the largest such unit in the nation, set up to handle highly contagious and deadly infectious conditions, including: SARS, smallpox, plague, Ebola virus disease and other viral hemorrhagic fevers.
Establishing the Global Center for Health Security
In response to the growing need, GCHS was established at UNMC in 2017. Since its inception, GCHS has played a pivotal role in tackling both local and global health crises. The center provides accurate, timely information to the public and healthcare professionals, trains frontline workers, and innovates in areas such as diagnostics, research infrastructure, and health care worker protection.
Responding to Global Health Emergencies
Headline-grabbing events such as the treatment of Ebola patients from Africa in 2014,
the 2020 quarantine of travelers at risk of contracting COVID-19, and the montoring of Andes Hantavirus passengers from the Hondius cruise ship positioned UNMC and Nebraska Medicine as leaders in handling major healthcare emergencies. Yet, behind these moments of crisis lies the relentless dedication of professionals and scholars who work year-round to advance preparedness.