The University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved a revised program statement that expands the scope and scale of Project Health during its meeting on Friday.
During the meeting, held at the UNK Regional Engagement Center on the campus of the University of Nebraska at Kearney, the board approved expanding final plans for Project Health, the future primary teaching hospital for the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine.
The revised program statement approved by the board expands the project to a 1.5 million-square-foot facility, up from the 1.25 million square feet originally envisioned. The additional space will accommodate greater patient volumes and anticipated growth in UNMC enrollment and allow for a greater number of beds, spaces for specialized care, and for the retirement of aging facilities, including Clarkson Tower.
Ultimately, the updated scope aims to provide the inpatient, surgical, interventional, laboratory, education, and research capacity needed to support future growth. Together with rising construction costs, the additional space represents an anticipated investment of $2.75 billion, approximately $500 million beyond the original estimate.
“This investment is certainly significant. But so too is Project Health itself,” said NU System President Jeffrey P. Gold, MD. “This project is a once-in-a-multigeneration opportunity to expand access to world-class medical care, modernize how we educate and train the next generation of healthcare professionals, and create a clinical economic development platform capable of serving Nebraska long into the future.”
“We are grateful to the Board of Regents for their continued support of Project Health and what it will mean for the people of Nebraska,” said UNMC Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD. “This is much more than a new hospital. It is an opportunity to transform how we educate the next generation of health professionals, giving students the chance to learn and train alongside multidisciplinary teams in spaces designed for the way healthcare is practiced today. It will also help us advance research and bring new treatments and discoveries to patients, not just in Omaha, but across the entire state. With the support of our partners and donors, we are building something that will serve Nebraskans for generations to come.”
Nebraska Medicine CEO Michael Ash, MD, said:
“Nebraska Medicine is grateful for the ongoing support of the Board of Regents in this important step forward for Project Health. This transformational project will redefine how we care for patients, expand access to lifesaving services, and create new opportunities for innovation, education, and discovery. Most importantly, it will enhance our ability to improve the health and well-being of Nebraskans for generations to come.”
The board also heard a presentation from the UNMC and Nebraska Medicine Transplant Team, in which Alan Langnas, DO, chief of the UNMC Division of Transplant Surgery, outlined the history and impact of their work. The team recently celebrated its 10,000th transplant.
For those who receive transplants, the impact is extraordinary, said Bob Matthies of Hastings, who received a kidney transplant nearly 13 months ago after matching with a family friend. That donation, he said, felt like “life had been poured back into me.”
Transplants allow Nebraskans like Matthies to return to work, volunteer and contribute to their families and communities, Dr. Langnas said. Post-transplant, recipients of organ donation also spend far less on medical care than before their transplants.
The result is $1.8 billion in societal and health care savings annually, Dr. Langnas said, citing a report by the consulting firm Tripp Umbach. All told, the economic impact of the UNMC and Nebraska Medicine organ donation program is expected to grow to $5.2 billion by 2028.
“UNMC has been a leader in both bone marrow and solid organ transplantation of kidneys, livers, hearts, lungs and others for decades,” said Dr. Gold. “Countless lives have been saved and transformed because of the expertise, innovation and extraordinary care of our physicians, nurses, researchers and health care professionals. Their work exemplifies what academic medicine means for the people of Nebraska, both now and for thousands of individuals and their families in the years and generations to come.”
Dr. Gold also thanked the board for their confidence in his leadership and its commitment to the future of the University of Nebraska and the communities it serves.
“We have a fantastic leadership team across the University of Nebraska System,” he said. “It is an honor to work with them to serve Nebraska.”