‘New tomorrow’ holds promise, challenges for UNMC

Harold M. Maurer, M.D.

The landscape has changed, but there are still opportunities for UNMC to prosper in the new world of health care.

That was the message delivered Tuesday by UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., at his annual address to the UNMC faculty.

With the economic downturn in recent years coupled with the major changes looming with health care reform, Dr. Maurer said, “I don’t think we’ll ever get back to where we were before.”

He titled his speech, “The New Tomorrow,” to capture what he feels is a key crossroads for academic health science centers.

He cited four key things UNMC must do to survive the changing health care environment:

• Reposition to meet the new status quo;
  
• Adjust to the new financial norm;
  
• Become a destination campus with comprehensive institutes and centers; and
  
• Support clinical and basic research.

Of note Other noteworthy items mentioned by the chancellor included: In terms of research funding per full-time faculty, UNMC now ranks fourth in the country. UNMC’s Summer Medical and Dental Education Program is “regarded as the best in America.” Although movement of Saddle Creek Road is not happening as quickly as he hoped, he’s optimistic that within 18 months work will begin to correct the interchange of Saddle Creek Road and Dodge Street.

In the new tomorrow, Dr. Maurer said collaboration will be vital. He cited Steve Wartman, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC) who has said, “Collaboration is the new competition.”

In his 40-minute presentation, Dr. Maurer reviewed highlights of the past year and provided updates on each of the construction projects currently under way or scheduled to begin in the near future.

He went through UNMC’s priorities and noted that construction of a comprehensive cancer campus is his No. 1 priority.

“This would be a game changer for cancer care in the region,” he said.

The project would cost an estimated $250 million, Dr. Maurer said. UNMC has already received a “significant contribution” toward the project, he said, but more fundraising needs to be done.