New outpatient, surgery clinics announced

Leaders see positive impact

When completed in the fall of 2016, the Lauritzen Outpatient Center will have more than 170,000 square feet of new clinical, research and educational space. The Village Pointe Outpatient Surgery Center will add 42,000 finished square feet to the medical center campus there when it opens in 2015. Medical center leaders say when completed, the centers will have an immediate positive impact on the number of surgical procedures possible, as well as access and convenience for patients.

Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, chancellor of UNMC, said the medical center could not be more thankful to the Lauritzen family, Ruth and Bill Scott and Dr. Charles and Judy Fritch for their tremendous gifts and commitments.

“This support will enable us to provide the very best ambulatory and outpatient surgical care, right here in Omaha, as well as the finest research and education spaces and the opportunity to advance our leadership in telemedicine,” Dr. Gold said. “This facility is a true jewel in the crown of UNMC and our clinical enterprise.”

The West Omaha center at Village Pointe will offer outpatient procedures and surgeries that require an overnight stay. Procedures done at the Fritch Surgery Center will be outpatient only, all surgeries requiring overnight stays will continue to be performed in The Nebraska Medical Center’s main hospital operating rooms.

The 10 new operating rooms will allow the medical center to decommission the existing operating rooms in University Tower and reallocate that space. The center will also be home to a number of outpatient clinics including general surgery and orthopaedics. Moving several outpatient clinics from their current location in the Durham Outpatient Center will free up much-needed clinical space closer to the existing inpatient areas of the hospital. Most importantly for patients, it will be a more efficient way to see their doctor or have a procedure done.

“When a patient comes in for a consultation or a follow up visit they have a lot on their minds,” said Kevin Garvin, MD, orthopaedic surgeon and chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation at UNMC. “This new center is focused completely on providing them a better experience, from the moment they park their car right outside, to the moment they go home from their appointment or procedure.” Dr. Garvin says the department’s administrative, educational and research areas’ proximity to the clinical areas creates “an optimal environment for translational research to improve orthopaedic care.”