UNMC takes pride in being a resource for Nebraska.
Last week, I saw exactly what that means.
At an October meeting, Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., told the UNMC Board of Counselors — a group of business/community leaders from across the state who advocate for UNMC — that he would be happy to come to their community and speak.
An idle remark to make the board feel important? Hardly.
The calls soon started rolling in. The first three stops on the chancellor’s tour would be York, Kearney and Hastings.
The chancellor met with hospital and community officials and spread the word about UNMC through the media.
It was awesome to watch it unfold.
In Kearney, Dr. Gold was keynote speaker for the annual dinner of the Kearney Chamber of Commerce. More than 600 people attended.
“It always comes down to people,” he said, stressing that the patient experience is as important as quality of care.
He shared updated rankings from the University HealthSystem Consortium (now known as Vizient). Three years ago, UNMC/Nebraska Medicine ranked 92nd out of 145 academic medical centers. Two years ago, we moved up to 62nd, then last year we moved to 10th.
This year is looking even better — “We should rank somewhere between No. 5 and 7,” Dr. Gold said.
He gave an update on the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center – opening in June and featuring a sanctuary designed by the great glass artist Dale Chihuly.
When he finished speaking, the audience erupted in applause and several people even gave the chancellor a standing ovation.
“That was marvelous, inspirational,” said Allen Beermann, executive director of the Nebraska Press Association who delivered the invocation.
In Hastings, Dr. Gold spoke at Mary Lanning Hospital to about 20 members of the Rotary Club. He was introduced by Chris Johnson, a Hastings attorney and Board of Counselors member.
Johnson shared his experience with UNMC/Nebraska Medicine – as a past and present cancer patient dealing with rare forms of lymphoma that UNMC is equipped to handle. He called UNMC’s lymphoma expertise “a treasure for all Nebraska.”
“I have both my doctors’ cell phone numbers,” he said. “They tell me to text them any time.”
He couldn’t have been more proud.
