The UNMC College of Nursing HEROES program celebrated 20 years of providing emergency preparedness education and training across the state in September 2025.
With an initial goal focusing on training for bio-preparedness and public health emergencies, the past two decades have seen the program evolve to provide education and training to students and professionals within healthcare, community preparedness, and public safety for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosive (CBRNE) and natural disaster emergencies.
Through the development of the Mobile Simulation Unit (MSU), HEROES has been able to provide in-person education and training for multiple education establishments, acute care and critical access hospitals, and rural emergency services and fire departments throughout the state.
The first live event was Sept. 13, 2007, with nursing students on the Kearney campus, closely followed with events at all UNMC College of Nursing divisions.
By constantly evaluating the emergency preparedness and response landscape, delivery of education during live events has progressed from in-person lecture and basic triage simulation to online-lectures and hands-on multi-activity sessions.
2025 Curriculum Updates
This year, HEROES launched a revamped curriculum designed to provide healthcare students with more hands-on opportunities to experience facets of emergency preparedness and response to which they are not typically exposed.
The update streamlines events by restructuring the hands-on activities to focusing on three main components: Assessment, Stabilization and Transport. This reduces the need for support and resources at event locations, freeing faculty and rooms for other endeavors.
Planning and development took place after the fall 2024 live events concluded and a successful pilot of the program was held on the Kearney campus in April.
The new format live events begin on Sept. 23 with the Omaha traditional students. Follow HEROES on social media to see photos from that event and for all other events scheduled throughout the semester and beyond.