Retired Air Force surgeon general gets tour of UNMC

Retired Lt. Gen. James Roudebush, MD, is no stranger to either UNMC or Nebraska.

He grew up in Gering, attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and got his medical degree at UNMC. During and after his term as U.S. Air Force surgeon general, Gen. Roudebush worked closely with UNMC, as well, on building relationships between UNMC physicians and scientists and the U.S. military.

But he had not toured the Global Center for Health’s Security’s Training, Simulation and Quarantine Center until recently.

In town for last weekend’s 50^th anniversary gathering of the medical school class of 1975, Gen. Roudebush also took time to tour the iEXCEL Program, meet with Col. Elizabeth Schnaubelt, MD, and her team from the Center for Sustainment of Trauma Readiness Skills-Omaha, tour the Innovation Design Unit and meet with UNMC Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD, and UNMC Vice Chancellor for External Relations Chris Kratochvil, MD.

“The longstanding support of Gen. Roudebush has had a significant impact on today’s collaborations between UNMC and the military, and it continues to contribute to our ongoing growth in partnerships, particularly our strong relationships with the Air Force,” Dr. Kratochvil said.

The Training, Simulation and Quarantine Center tour was led by Dossy Felts, associate director of administration and operations at the global center, and himself an Air Force veteran. During the tour, Gen. Roudebush discussed aspects of the unit with Felts in a way that made it clear he was knowledgeable about the history of the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit and the med center’s efforts during the Ebola and COVID-19 outbreaks.

“They were ready,” he told Felts about the med center’s response and personnel.

Gen. Roudebush, who describes himself as “still Nebraska through and through,” also spoke with Dr. Davies for 30 minutes on UNMC’s work with the U.S. government, developments in infectious disease treatment and other issues.

“I enjoyed the opportunity to speak with Gen. Roudebush,” Dr. Davies said. “Not only has he been a strong supporter of UNMC, he is an example of the quality of graduate at UNMC and the great work our graduates do, in his case impacting health care in the United States and beyond. I look forward to continuing engagement with Gen. Roudebush going forward.”

Gen. Roudebush called the Davis Global Center and the Global Center for Health Security impressive.

“But most impressive is the under-layering of training and procedural activities,” he said. “It’s not just an impressive facility. It’s very capably staffed and trained.

“In my view – and I have the chance to look around the country – (the Global Center) is a center of excellence, I would say on par with virtually anywhere else in the states in terms of those programs that exist here. But what makes it the destination of choice when people truly need these capabilities, as Ebola showed, is that this place not only had the capabilities, but it had the trained staff to really make those capabilities come to their full potential.”

Although he visited UNMC in 2008 when he was USAF surgeon general, Gen. Roudebush said he had not been to a UNMC medical class reunion until earlier this month.

“I have not seen my classmates for almost those 50 years, so I’m looking to re-establish friendships and touch base with people who were very important during that time in my life,” he said.

“As an Air Force family physician, I felt that my education here at Nebraska was very thorough, pragmatic and outcome-driven, and it made me better prepared to do everything that I’ve been asked to do since.”