On Thursday, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen hosted U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. during his visit to tour the National Quarantine Unit, which monitored Americans exposed to hantavirus earlier this year.
“This is a legendary facility,” Secretary Kennedy said during a news conference in the atrium of the Davis Global Center, which houses the nation’s only federally funded quarantine unit. “Most don’t appreciate how far reaching the influence of this facility is around the world.”
Secretary Kennedy praised the UNMC and Nebraska Medicine teams that medically monitored 18 guests from the MV Hondius expedition. “This facility is absolutely critical to our national security,” Secretary Kennedy said, calling it a “mecca for biosecurity.
“When the country has called, UNMC has delivered,” he said.
Secretary Kennedy praised University of Nebraska President Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, and university leaders for their work in expanding nutrition education in medical school. Earlier this year, HHS piloted plans to have medical schools provide at least 40 hours of nutrition education as part of their medical school curricula. UNMC has included nutrition education in its curriculum for several years.
Prior to the news conference, Secretary Kennedy joined Gov. Pillen, Dr. Gold, UNMC Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD, and others in a closed briefing and tour of the National Quarantine Unit. In addition, the group learned about the work of the C-STARS (Center for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills) Unit in Omaha and toured portions of the Davis Global Center.