The University of Nebraska Board of Regents Friday put forth a resolution honoring Nebraska’s Ebola team, the Nebraska Biocontainment Patient Care Unit at UNMC and its primary clinical partner, Nebraska Medicine.
The resolution, read into the board meeting’s official record, and then presented to the team members, lauded the team’s international accolades for treating patients, for establishing and sharing the gold standard for safe and effective Ebola treatment and for the research opportunities and worldwide partnerships that have emerged as a result.
“I am so proud of all of the work done here by the medical center’s Biocontainment Unit, and more specifically the consummate professionals who staff it, to provide treatment, to advance discovery and to educate the world on what we have learned,” said UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D. “We’re grateful to the regents for this heartfelt recognition. Our role as the national center for health security and biomedical preparedness will continue to recognize the achievements of our team and provide distinction for Nebraska.”
The medical center, as the home to one of the nation’s four biocontainment units, was asked by the U.S. State Department in 2014 to treat an Ebola patient. Having drilled for countless hours since the unit opened in 2005, the biocontainment team was uniquely qualified to answer the call. The original team was soon joined by other experts on campus.
The Nebraska Ebola team’s efforts were hailed internationally, and at home: The Omaha World-Herald named the team its 2014 Midlanders of the Year.
Recognition for the med center’s contribution to the fight against Ebola continues to drive momentum. The World Health Organization has since made UNMC a partner in its Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN).
