The leaders of UNMC, Nebraska Medicine and Clarkson Regional Health Services came together at an open forum to reaffirm their shared commitments – to the patients, faculty, staff and colleagues, and communities that the organizations serve.
“As we’re moving forward, we want everybody to understand that this commitment is one that we’ve always shared together, and that’s not going to change,” said Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD.
He added: “We’re going to continue to have a strong Nebraska Medicine, Nebraska Medicine will continue to have a strong relationship with UNMC, and the tenets of how Nebraska Medicine functions are not going to change.”
On Tuesday, Dr. Davies held a special all-campus forum to host Nebraska Medicine CEO Michael Ash, MD, and Clarkson Regional Health Services’ CEO Bill Lydiatt, MD, EMBA, as they addressed the path forward in making the University of Nebraska the sole governing member of Nebraska Medicine.
Members of the medical center community can watch the forum here.
Last week, the University of Nebraska Board of Regents and Clarkson Regional Health Services reconstituted the Nebraska Medicine board of directors with an interim board led by Dr. Davies as chair and Dr. Lydiatt as vice chair.
Dr. Ash said there has been a lot of progress to answer Nebraska Medicine’s concerns. He called the continuing conversations flowing and productive, although he said some questions still have to be answered and healing needs to occur.
Said Dr. Ash, “We have the region’s premier academic medical center and a partnership that goes back more than three decades, and that has to be the heart of what we do.
“Our mission, our promise of ‘Serious Medicine, Extraordinary Care,’ and what we do in training the workforce and the care providers for our region cannot stumble. … We need to really focus on how – together – we continue to be extraordinary.”
Dr. Lydiatt also addressed Clarkson Regional Health Services’ strategic decision to remove its membership in Nebraska Medicine to shift to a health-driven charitable foundation. Named Clarkson Institute, the foundation will expand and facilitate Clarkson’s longstanding mission and reach, with the vision to make Nebraska the healthiest state in the nation.
“We’re very committed to improving the health of Nebraskans, and we want to do that together with Nebraska Medicine and UNMC, because clearly the state cannot be healthy without a healthy Nebraska Medicine and UNMC.”
Dr. Davies said, “We are fully committed to the success of both organizations. I can tell you, having been here for 14 years, I love both organizations. They are vital, not just for Omaha, but for the state of Nebraska. And we’re going to continue to do everything to see the success of both organizations.”