Ground to break next week on new eye institute

An artist’s rendering of the Stanley M. Truhlsen Eye Institute, which will be built on the UNMC campus and facilitate the most comprehensive eye care in the region.

UNMC will break ground on Monday on an eye institute that will transform vision care in the region.

What: The Stanley M. Truhlsen Eye Institute will bring clinicians, researchers and patients together in one state-of-the-art facility featuring specialized care and the latest in diagnostic medicine. It will offer hope to people suffering from blinding eye diseases such as macular degeneration and glaucoma.

Where: 40th and Leavenworth streets in the former site of Premiere Plastics.

When: Groundbreaking starts at 10:30 a.m. The campus community is invited to attend. Construction should start next year and finish by late 2012.

More to come More about the new eye institute — including an interview with Dr. Stanley Truhlsen — will be published in UNMC Today in the coming days.

Who: The center is named for Stanley Truhlsen, M.D., a legendary Omaha ophthalmologist who was a longtime faculty member at UNMC as well as a medical center alumnus. Dr. Truhlsen provided the lead gift to construct the new center.

A look inside: The 47,000-square foot facility will house:

• Outpatient eye exam facilities for all ophthalmic subspecialties;
  
• A children’s eye care center;
  
• Clinical research; and
  
• A regional diagnostic center.

The diagnostic center will offer services such as high resolution laser and ultrasound imaging that are not currently available in the region.