A group of 23 Nebraska legislative staffers visited UNMC last week as part of an Omaha visit that also featured a stop at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
UNMC leaders, including Vice Chancellor for External Affairs Bob Bartee and Ken Hansen, associate vice chancellor for business and finance, helped showcase UNMC to the visitors. The legislative staffers toured UNMC’s state-of the-art facilities, including the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, and were given presentations on the Virtual Environmental Radiotherapy Training (VERT) system and the Anamotage virtual anatomy table.
Kate Wolfe, administrative aide for Sen. Robert Hilkemann, of District 4 in northwest Omaha, attended presentations on pediatric cancer, the Watson Genomic Analytics program and the Anatomage virtual anatomy table, which she called “amazing.”
Since Sen. Hilkemann serves on the appropriations committee and introduced LB 532 to appropriate funding for construction of the Global Center for Advanced Interprofessional Learning at UNMC, Wolfe said the senator’s office interacts with university officials a great deal.
“As someone who serves the legislature, UNMC and the university system are something that we are all proud of,” she said. “And as Nebraskans, not only for the legislature but the general public, it’s good to know that we are seeing a return on our dollar.”
Bartee said it was gratifying to be able to showcase UNMC for the legislative staffers.
“The University of Nebraska and UNMC work in close collaboration with the Nebraska Legislature to serve the people of our state, the United States and beyond,” Bartee said. “It is exciting to be able to showcase UNMC’s cutting-edge health care and research initiatives before some of the people whose work has helped make our advances and breakthroughs possible.
“We continually seek ways to express our gratitude to state senators and their excellent staffs,” Bartee said. “This is one small way to do that.”