In the world of health care, it is more and more about the patient experience.
If patients have to struggle to find parking, then wander around to several different buildings to get the care they need, it’s very likely they will view that experience negatively relative to what is available elsewhere.
I’m happy to report that the experience for not only our patients but also our providers is about to take a major step forward on the UNMC/Nebraska Medicine campus with the opening of the Lauritzen Outpatient Center and the Fritch Surgery Center at 40th and Leavenworth streets.
If you haven’t been inside the building yet, I hope you take a few minutes and check it out. You’ll be impressed. Better yet, come to the building dedication event at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17. Tours will be given, and we will formally recognize the donors who made this incredible 170,000-square-foot, four-level facility possible.
This is truly an historic event for the medical center that will transform the ambulatory patient experience and quality of care to an extent not previously possible. The facility is something our clinical faculty has been dreaming about for more than a decade.
Some of the highlights of the building include:
- Patients can be dropped off right at the front door. There is plenty of dedicated surface and garage parking for patients and their families.
- It provides one-stop, patient-centered care. Patients have access to everything they need under one roof – clinics, radiology, laboratory services, outpatient pharmacy, physical therapy/occupational therapy, even a sandwich/snack bar with Starbucks coffee.
- There are10 state-of-the-art operating rooms. Eventually four of the ORs will be dedicated to ophthalmic surgery affiliated with the Truhlsen Eye Institute, and there will be a connector between the two buildings.
- Level four features an academic research center for orthopaedic surgery as well as a telehealth education center that will allow our students, house officers and faculty physicians to be trained in the technology and art of providing care via the internet.
- It’s an outpatient facility. There will be no overnight stays for patients.
The opening of the new building will have a profound impact on the entire campus. The new operating rooms should allow us to close the outdated ORs in University Tower and renovate that space. In addition, by moving several outpatient clinics from their current location in the Durham Outpatient Center, it frees up much-needed clinical space closer to the existing inpatient areas of the hospital.
A strategic plan for the utilization of that space is currently under development and will be communicated when it is available.
I want to close by recognizing the incredibly generous donors who made this facility possible. A couple of the names are quite recognizable – the Bruce Lauritzen family and Ruth and Bill Scott.
The Lauritzen family has supported our organization and mission for nearly four decades. Bruce currently serves as chairman of the board of directors for Clarkson Regional Health Services, one of Nebraska Medicine’s two parent organizations.
The Scotts have left an indelible mark on our campus being the lead donors on nearly every building project over the past decade. They always donate with the student first in mind. Their generosity has truly transformed our campus.
The third lead donor – Charles Fritch, M.D., and his wife Judy – are names that may not be as familiar to some of you.
Dr. Fritch graduated from the UNMC College of Medicine in 1968 and settled in Bakersfield, Calif. He founded the Fritch Eye Care Center, one of the largest cataract and refractive practices in California. Dr. Fritch has been a consistent supporter of UNMC over the years, and we are extremely grateful for his generosity and his willingness to give back to his alma mater. Such alumni support is one of the things that makes UNMC such a fantastic institution in which to work.
Happy holidays to you and you families and thanks for all you do for our medical center.