A prominent group of economists saw some of UNMC’s latest advances up close during a recent campus tour.
About 20 members of the National Business Economic Issues Council – an organization of economists representing different sectors of the economy – visited UNMC on Aug. 7. In addition to economists from the U.S., representatives from Canada, Mexico and Switzerland also participated.
They experienced the health care simulation advances at the Davis Global Center, saw the internationally recognized biohazard preparedness of the National Quarantine Unit and toured the state-of-the-art Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.
After experiencing the iEXCEL program’s holographic theater, one participant remarked, “It was extraordinary.”
In the 3D Laser CAVE-5, the guests were told about the program’s new perspective on learning. Elsewhere in the Davis Global Center, they saw a training ambulance and a mock apartment where trainees can experience health care scenarios in the home.
“Who else in the world does this?” one council member asked.
“There’s no facility in the world like this,” said Chris Kratochvil, senior advisor to UNMC’s Global Center for Health Security and interim vice chancellor of external relations.
In a tour of the Training, Simulation and Quarantine Center, the guests heard how UNMC and Nebraska Medicine activated to help care for Americans evacuated from Wuhan, China, to Camp Ashland at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, working in partnership with federal responders. The visitors also saw the spaces in the National Quarantine Unit where passengers evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship stayed in quarantine and isolation.
David Berson, PhD, president of the National Business Economic Issues Council, responded, “Very impressive.”
Dr. Berson said the council, which meets quarterly, wanted to see how technology is being used at the forefront in the economy.
“This is great for the folks in Nebraska and great from the federal perspective,” he said. “But the more widespread it is, the better it is for the health of America.”