The UNMC community is invited online Tuesday for the formal dedication of the Dr. Edwin G. & Dorothy Balbach Davis Global Center, a visionary facility designed to transform health care education, training and research.

Due to COVID-19 and campus safety restrictions, the 10 a.m. CT ceremony will be a virtual celebration accessible via the UNMC website.

UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, will emcee the event, which will include remarks from federal, state and local dignitaries. A video "fly-through" will highlight the building and some of its unique features -- including the largest SONY Infinity Wall of its kind in the Western Hemisphere and the first holographic theater in any academic institution in the world.

The celebration will reveal the transformational possibilities that lie within the iconic landmark and how all five levels of the facility work together to create safe, innovative and experiential training environments, as well as a venue for research and business development

Located on UNMC's Omaha campus, the Davis Global Center is home to iEXCEL, a transformative model that incorporates modeling, simulation and visualization technologies in realistic health care settings to improve the outcomes of patient care.

The center also is home to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Training, Simulation & Quarantine Center and features the only designated federal quarantine unit in the country. The 20-bed unit was used earlier this year to house and monitor some of the first Americans to be treated in the U.S. for the novel coronavirus.

Overall, the Davis Global Center serves as the hub for a statewide network of interconnected simulation centers in Scottsbluff, Kearney, Norfolk and Lincoln.

Funding for the $121.8 million facility was provided by the state of Nebraska, city of Omaha, U.S. federal government and generous donors.