Federal official has high praise for UNMC

Don Boyce, J.D., deputy assistant secretary in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, recently visited UNMC to take part in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Dr. Edwin Davis & Dorothy Balbach Davis Global Center for Advanced Interprofessional Learning. The Davis Global Center, in addition to housing UNMC's iEXCEL initiative, also will serve as the home of the National Center for Health Security and Biopreparedness. That federal center, backed by a $19.8 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, will enable UNMC to teach federal health care personnel procedures in treating highly infectious diseases. Dep. Assistant Sec. Boyce, representing the federal government, toured UNMC, visiting with leadership, faculty and staff, and came away impressed. "The programs and the capabilities are extraordinary here at UNMC," he said. "When I asked questions, and when I spoke to the people here, the things that they thought about in implementing their protocols, and capabilities, mean much more than any (technological) device. "And the way that the extraordinary expertise that you have here has built, and will continue to build, on programs that we are able to support from HHS-ASPR is something that is a testament to the commitment and the extraordinary professionalism that you bring." He continued: "There seems to be nothing on your horizon that you won't be able to do."