UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., will visit North Platte and Scottsbluff on Wednesday to meet with leaders of area health facilities, UNMC faculty and staff, and local business and community members who are members of the UNMC Board of Counselors, a statewide group that advises Dr. Gold on health care issues.
Dr. Gold will be accompanied by Greg Karst, Ph.D., executive associate dean for the UNMC College of Allied Health Professions; Lynnette Leeseberg Stamler, Ph.D., associate dean for academic programs at the UNMC College of Nursing; and Cory Shaw, chief operating officer, system network development, Nebraska Medicine, UNMC’s primary clinical partner.
Dr. Gold said during the visits, he hopes to learn of the opportunities and concerns facing western Nebraskans and look for ways the medical center can help.
One of UNMC’s goals is recruiting and educating students from rural Nebraska in hopes they will practice in rural areas. The new Health Science Education Complex in Kearney opened last year and is advancing UNMC’s efforts toward meeting this goal.
UNMC’s student enrollment has continued to grow. In the 2015-16 school year, UNMC had a record enrollment for the 15th straight year with 3,790 students enrolled, an increase of 94 students, or 2.5 percent over 2014-15 enrollment.
“The expansion of programs in our colleges of nursing and allied health professions is providing more opportunities for Nebraska students,” Dr. Gold said. “These students, who are receiving a world-class education, are graduates filling shortages across the state.”