The Lauritzen Outpatient Center & Fritch Surgery Center will become a “game changer” in providing a new standard of care for patients.
On Friday, UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., welcomed approximately 200 attendees to the groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility at 40th and Emile Streets that, upon completion, will include more than 170,000 square feet of world-class clinical, research and education space.
“This new center represents the future of health care,” Dr. Gold said. “It will provide easy access and convenience to patients and dramatically increase our ability to perform outpatient procedures.”
The Lauritzen Outpatient Center will contain outpatient clinics, clinical laboratory space and an outpatient pharmacy. The Fritch Surgery Center will include state-of-the-art operating rooms, with easy access for patients who do not require an overnight hospital stay. Four of the operating rooms will be dedicated to ophthalmic surgery affiliated with the Truhlsen Eye Institute. An orthopaedic surgery academic center and a new center for telehealth will be located on the fourth floor, supported by a gift from Ruth and Bill Scott. View additional photos from the groundbreaking ceremony.
“This new outpatient and surgical center will allow us to effectively deliver medical treatment in a much more convenient setting for our patients,” said Nebraska Medicine CEO Bill Dinsmoor. “Both our physicians and our patients will benefit greatly from this project.”
The ambulatory center is made possible by a number of generous community donors including the lead benefactors, the Bruce Lauritzen family and Charles Fritch, M.D., and his wife Judy.
Lauritzen has supported the organization and its mission for nearly four decades and currently serves as chairman of the board of directors for Clarkson Regional Health Services, one of Nebraska Medicine’s two parent organizations; his family’s contributions date back to 1869. "If we want to reduce the costs of health care we need to do more outside the acute care hospital," he said.
Dr. Fritch is a 1968 graduate of the UNMC College of Medicine. He and his wife Judy live in Bakersfield, Calif., where he founded the Fritch Eye Care Center, one of the largest cataract and refractive practices in the state. “Innovation is essential – not just in medicine but in delivery of care to patients,” Dr. Fritch said. “The goal is to not only extend, but also improve quality of life.” Completion of the Lauritzen Outpatient Center & Fritch Surgery Center is expected in the fall of 2016. View progress via MCL Construction’s webcam.