Just two years after breaking ground, Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals’ Omaha campus is complete and ready to serve patients.
A key role
UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., remembers the 2014 groundbreaking ceremony for the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Omaha like it was yesterday.
“It was Sept. 14, 2014,” he told attendees at Thursday’s grand opening ceremony. “Just 48 hours before we accepted our first Ebola patient.”
Dr. Gold said there is a strong correlation between Madonna’s new Omaha hospital and UNMC/Nebraska Medicine taking on the Ebola patients.
They were both huge undertakings, both providing university quality care, Dr. Gold said. “We just had to say, ‘We can do this.'”
As partners with Madonna, UNMC/Nebraska Medicine will play a key role when the facility opens its doors to patients next Monday.
Sam Bierner, M.D., the founding chairman of the UNMC Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, has already recruited four new physicians for his program with a number of others in active recruitment.
The physicians will provide care to Madonna’s adult and pediatric patients with conditions such as traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke and neurological disease.
By the summer of 2019, UNMC hopes to have its first PM&R residency class in place.
“With its clinical, teaching and research components, the PM&R program will be a welcome addition to our state and will greatly enhance health care for people facing a long road to recovery,” said Bradley Britigan, M.D., dean of the UNMC College of Medicine. “It will make a difference in people’s lives – exactly what an academic health science center should do.”
A grand opening celebration was held Thursday at Madonna’s Omaha campus, 17500 Burke St., with former patients, Madonna friends and staff and state and local dignitaries in attendance.
“The opening of the Omaha campus enables Madonna to serve an increasing number of individuals who have sustained traumatic injuries or disabling conditions. The state-of-the-art facility, when combined with specialized clinical treatment teams and cutting-edge technology, will provide those served with the best chance of resuming activities that give their lives meaning,” said Paul Dongilli Jr., Ph.D., president and CEO of Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals.
The Omaha campus features 260,000-square-feet of warm, inviting space. The 110 private-room hospital includes three major areas — an acute rehabilitation hospital, a rehabilitation specialty hospital and a children’s rehabilitation unit. The Madonna Institute of Rehabilitation Science and Engineering will be onsite, providing opportunities for advancement in rehabilitation research for patients.
A partnership with UNMC and its primary clinical partner, Nebraska Medicine, is providing physician support for patients. Samuel Bierner, M.D., who has more than 25 years of experience in the specialty of physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), is leading the effort. In addition, Madonna and UNMC are establishing and supporting the new physical medicine and rehabilitation residency program in which medical students and residents will train at Madonna. The program is the first of its kind in the region.
The economic impact during the two-year construction of the Omaha campus was $122 million. Once patient occupancy reaches full census, the Omaha campus is expected to generate an estimated 700-800 full and part-time jobs.
“It tells people that Omaha is open for business. And it sends out the signal to others in the medical community that Omaha is a good place to be. It is just a very positive addition to our medical community to provide those services that are so needed,” said Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert.
“We are committed to our rehabilitation mission, innovation and research; it’s been our foundation since we first opened nearly 60 years ago. We are excited to begin a new chapter for the benefit of patients in Omaha and the surrounding region,” said Dr. Dongilli.