UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer M.D., accompanied by 10 senior leaders from UNMC, will visit nine communities in Nebraska June 26 and 27.
From Seward, Lincoln, Crete and Beatrice on June 26, to Auburn, Nebraska City, Plattsmouth, South Omaha and Bellevue on June 27, the group will be involved in various activities, including community receptions and service club meetings, tours of hospitals and visits with hospital administrators and staff and interviews with area media.
The purpose is to say thanks to community members for their support, introduce members of the UNMC leadership team, listen to the health care needs of the community and let people know UNMC leaders are accessible. In addition to hearing from the community, UNMC leaders also will give brief updates about UNMC’s progress toward its goal of becoming a world-class academic health sciences center.
The UNMC leadership visit has become an annual event and this is the third year that UNMC’s senior leadership team has traveled as a group to greater Nebraska communities. In 2005, the leaders visited, Fremont, Columbus, Grand Island and Kearney. In 2004, they visited North Platte, Scottsbluff, Holdrege and Hastings.
Among the UNMC accomplishments that will be highlighted include the tremendous campus expansion underway with 15 construction projects in progress or recently completed. The three largest construction projects currently in the works are: the Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education; the Research Center of Excellence II; and the current Good Manufacturing Practices Transplant Production Facility.
Other recent accomplishments include, the launch of a statewide lung cancer screening program, the development of a gene chip to assist AIDS vaccine development, the publishing of the first textbook on health care disparities and the launching of a fourth Area Health Education Center (AHEC) in southeast Nebraska.
In January, the UNMC Munroe-Meyer Institute autism program announced the creation of the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders. The center, which will focus on older children and young adults, also will develop and expand research in autism and behavioral genetics. Earlier this month, university officials presented a proposal for the creation of a UNMC College of Public Health to a committee of the Board of Regents. The board will vote on the proposal later this year.
UNMC’s clinical partner, The Nebraska Medical Center announced plans last month to build a new hospital in Bellevue. The hospital is expected to be completed in 2008.
UNMC’s research funding from external sources is now more than $72 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 2,400 highly skilled jobs in the state.
Joining Dr. Maurer will be: Rubens Pamies, M.D., vice chancellor for academic affairs; Thomas Rosenquist, Ph.D., vice chancellor for research; Kenneth Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., director, UNMC Eppley Cancer Center; Brad Schaefer, M.D., associate director, Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation; John Gollan, M.D., Ph.D., dean, College of Medicine; Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc., dean, College of Nursing; Clarence Ueda, Pharm. D., Ph.D., dean, College of Pharmacy; John Reinhardt, D.D.S., dean, College of Dentistry; Mary Haven, associate dean, School of Allied Health Professions; and Robert Bartee, vice chancellor for external affairs.
During the leadership tour, Dr. Maurer will log his experiences during the visit on a blog along with photos at www.unmc.edu/blog/tripspring06/. The public is welcome to log on and ask questions.