Groundbreaking ceremony to be held this morning

An artist's rendering of the Lauritzen Outpatient Center, which includes the Fritch Surgery Center.

An artist's rendering of the Lauritzen Outpatient Center, which includes the Fritch Surgery Center.

The campus community is invited to a groundbreaking ceremony for the Lauritzen Outpatient Center & Fritch Surgery Center to be held at 11 a.m. today near 40th and Leavenworth Streets on the UNMC campus.

Construction began in September on the facility.

The Fritch Surgery Center is a suite of 10 state-of-the-art operating rooms specifically designed for outpatient procedures. Four of the operating rooms will be dedicated to ophthalmic surgery affiliated with the Truhlsen Eye Institute.

The Lauritzen Outpatient Center also will house a number of outpatient clinics, which are currently located in different areas around the medical center campus. The building’s top floor, supported by a gift from Ruth and Bill Scott, will house UNMC Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation research laboratories and educational space.

It also will include a new center for telemedicine to provide a hub for teaching and outcomes research related to telemedicine and its role in health care.