Kearney, Nebraska – Students, staff and faculty stepped inside the future of rural health care education Wednesday morning during a “first look” event at the new Health Science Education Center II on the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus.
The three-story, 110,000-square-foot facility, located on UNK’s west campus, will serve as a hub for cutting-edge health care training, featuring advanced simulation and clinical skills laboratories, technology-rich classrooms, study, dining and lounge spaces and shared resources designed to support collaborative learning across disciplines.
“This is a tremendous resource for health professions education in central Nebraska,” said Kyle Meyer, PhD, dean of the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Allied Health Professions and associate vice chancellor for health workforce initiatives. “It offers the same learning experiences and resources that we have on our Omaha campus. It’s smaller in scale, but equivalent in terms of quality and experiences.”
The $95 million building is the second major UNMC facility on the UNK campus and, together with the original Health Science Education Center that opened in 2015, forms the Douglas A. Kristensen Rural Health Education Complex. While each building has unique learning spaces and functions, all students will use both facilities as part of an interprofessional model that emphasizes team-based care.
“The goal is to train our students together in an interprofessional manner, so they learn about each other’s professions,” Dr. Meyer said. “When they get into practice, they’ll be better equipped to provide team-based care. We know that team-based care provides better quality for patients and better satisfaction for providers.”
The new facility is already being used during a phased move-in, and it’s expected to be fully operational by May, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony planned for that month. Once it reaches capacity, UNMC’s enrollment in Kearney will grow to about 625 students, nearly doubling its current presence on campus.
Seeing The Next Step
For UNK freshman Addie Schuka, the chance to see the building in person made the future feel closer.
“It’s awesome,” said Schuka, an exercise science major from Gretna who plans to pursue occupational therapy through UNMC. “A lot of the things we saw in Omaha, they have here, and some of them are even better. It’s very motivating to see where we can be in the next few years.”
Schuka is part of the Kearney Health Opportunities Program (KHOP), a UNK-UNMC partnership designed to prepare students from rural Nebraska for health care careers in those same communities. Although she grew up in the Omaha metro area, Schuka appreciates the smaller class sizes and more personalized education offered in Kearney.
“You get to build more relationships with your peers and your professors, and that makes a big difference,” she said.
Through KHOP, she’s also gained firsthand experience in rural health care settings, including visits to hospitals such as Valley County Health System in Ord. Those opportunities reinforce the importance of training students close to the communities they may one day serve.
“When you go to those smaller hospitals, you really see how important they are to their communities,” Schuka said. “Everyone works together, and you’re able to build ongoing relationships with patients. Having facilities like this in Kearney helps prepare us for that kind of care.”
Jaycee Reynolds, a freshman pre-pharmacy student, echoed that sentiment.
She was raised in Ewing, a small town with fewer than 400 residents, giving her a clear understanding of what access to health care can look like in rural Nebraska.
“The closest hospital to my hometown is about 20 minutes away,” Reynolds said. “Doctors would come into town a couple days a week and see patients in a small clinic space at the library. I want to give back to communities like this and be one of the professionals who can make health care more accessible for rural residents.”
Also a member of the KHOP program, Reynolds appreciates the opportunity to complete her UNMC training in Kearney – on the same campus where she is earning her undergraduate degree.
“I think it’s beautiful,” she said after touring the state-of-the-art facility. “I love how it’s one big building, and the technology is so cool. It feels like a place where you can really see yourself learning and growing.”
Beyond serving UNMC programs, the new building will also house UNK’s communication disorders program, along with UNK Student Health and Counseling, and provide access to shared lab spaces for undergraduate students. Central Community College will offer nursing classes in the facility, as well, further strengthening the collaborative approach that defines the project.