UNMC’s partner, Nebraska Health System, broke ground Thursday on a four-story building that will physically unite two hospitals, two cultures and two histories.
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UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., second from left, was among the dignitaries who broke ground on the NHS Center for Clinical Excellence. Photos by Vicky Cerino. |
“The new Center for Clinical Excellence will enable us to create a single, state-of-the-art health care facility, which is the next step in the 1997 merger that formed Nebraska Health System,” said Harlan J. Noddle, chairman of the NHS Board of Directors. “The building and the technology compliment the best doctors, nurses, techs, social workers, administrators and staff that you’ll find anywhere.”
Hundreds of NHS and UNMC employees, as well as political and community leaders, huddled inside an oversized white tent between NHS Clarkson Hospital and the Eppley Institute to celebrate the milestone.
Connecting hospitals, services
The 143,000 square-foot Center for Clinical Excellence will physically connect Clarkson Hospital and University Hospital allowing the consolidation of core medical services now spread across both campuses. Scheduled to open in May 2005, the building will house a new emergency room, surgical area, radiology department and neonatal intensive care unit.
“This facility will allow us to do away with duplication of services and operate more efficiently,” said Glenn Fosdick, president and CEO of NHS. “As the premier hospital in the region, we want to continue our tradition of leading the way for those who need us most in times of sickness and accidental trauma. Our new Center for Clinical Excellence Building will make it all possible.”
Building hightlights
The $56.5 million building will house a new neonatal intensive care unit featuring 34 private family rooms and two family gathering areas; 28 new operating rooms and four new radiology imaging suites.
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Heather and Mike Eversden with their 18-month-old daughter Madelaine. |
Heather Eversden, a member of the CCE building committee and design team, said the new neonatal intensive care unit will help families similar to hers. Eversden’s 18-month-old daughter was born eight weeks premature and spent three months in the neonatal intensive care unit followed by several surgeries for a heart defect. “With the unexpected came many blessings, among them the relationships with others and excellent medical care that our daughter received,” she said. “I’ve often said that angels work at this neonatal intensive care unit.”
The new emergency room will have 33 patient suites and four radiology and CAT scan suites. “Having radiology right in the emergency room will help patients who need X-rays get in and out more quickly,” said Robert Muelleman, M.D., chief of Emergency Services at NHS and professor of surgery at UNMC. “The added space will make us better able to handle multiple traumas and domestic terrorism events.”
The new space and technology will give NHS the largest and best-equipped emergency room between Chicago and Denver, he said.
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Following the groundbreaking ceremony, employees gather at a reception in the Durham Outpatient Center West Atrium. |
Breaking ground
Dr. Muelleman, UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., and College of Medicine Dean James Armitage, M.D., were among the 24 dignitaries who donned hard hats to turn ground on the construction site. Site work on the building will begin immediately, with construction slated to begin in March.
“Miracles happen here everyday…the miracle is modern medicine performed with extraordinary care by the skillful hands and hearts of those who heal,” Noddle said during the ceremony. “Walt Disney was right when he said, ‘It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.’ At Nebraska Health System, we do it everyday.”