Nebraska’s congressman for the 3rd District, U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, received an up close view last week of what makes UNMC/Nebraska Medicine a special place.
Smith, who has been in Congress since 2007, toured the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit with Phil Smith, M.D., medical director of the unit, and discussed UNMC/Nebraska Medicine’s new role as a National Ebola Training and Education Center.
He also met with UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., and talked about possible changes in graduate medical education. Smith serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and is a member of the Subcommittee on Health.
Smith also went through the Clinical Skills Lab Simulation Center with Chancellor Gold and discovered how UNMC is currently using simulation and virtual reality technology to better train the health professionals of tomorrow. He also received a briefing about the iEXCEL advanced simulation, experiential and learning facility.
“The biocontainment facility is world-class. It was great to see it firsthand,” Smith said. “It also was exciting to see the new developments and technologies. Nebraska has a bright future in health care, and I’ll keep working to help ensure government doesn’t get in the way.”
The 3rd Congressional District is massive, covering at least two-thirds of Nebraska. It is populated by rural, agriculture-oriented communities and is anchored by the cities of Scottsbluff and Gering on the west, by Grand Island and Hastings in the middle, and South Sioux City and Falls City on the east. The Sandhills roll across much of the center of the district.
During the tour of the simulation center, Dr. Gold stressed how the medical center has made interprofessional education a high priority on campus. As congressman for a highly rural district, Smith said he is quite familiar with the importance of working together.
“We all need each other,” said Smith, who has been active in promoting access to Nebraska agriculture products around the world, while striving to create jobs and promote economic growth in the state.
During the course of his campus visit, Smith, who is from Gering, Neb., signed the gigantic thank you card on the wall of the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, saw how easy it was to shift cameras in the simulation center, and even drew an illustration on the MultiTaction wall.
“It was a great honor to have Congressman Smith on campus and to show him first-hand some of the exciting advances happening at UNMC/Nebraska Medicine,” Dr. Gold said. “It was especially important that he could see some of the latest simulation technology and how it will allow us to better train the health professionals who will be practicing in our state.”