Ten years ago in September, leaders from Children’s Hospital & Medical Center and UNMC signed an affiliation agreement that has since significantly improved the quality and accessibility of pediatric health care in Omaha, the region and beyond.
In addition to greatly enriching clinical care for children, the partnership has offered collaboration and alignment of resources to enhance pediatric health care education and research opportunities.
“This forward-thinking collaboration has afforded our community the very best in pediatric health care closer to home,” said Richard G. Azizkhan, M.D., president and CEO of Children’s Hospital & Medical Center. “We’ve been able to provide needed specialty services and attract the best and brightest faculty. Without this partnership, area children and families wouldn’t have the same quality and convenience of care, and Children’s wouldn’t be in the exciting, leading-edge position of growth that we’re in today.”
“This partnership has been successful far beyond what was expected,” said Brad Britigan, M.D., dean of the UNMC College of Medicine. “It has been a win-win for both institutions. It has given us the ability to build and expand our clinical programs to benefit the care of children throughout the region as well as our research and education enterprises in pediatrics.”
John W. Sparks, M.D., chair of the UNMC Department of Pediatrics and pediatrician-in-chief at Children’s, has also been a driving force behind the partnership in the past decade.
“The recent creation of the Child Health Research Institute is a perfect example of how this partnership has flourished and taken pediatric-focused research to a whole new level,” said Dr. Sparks.
The agreement has been — and will continue to be — critical in recruiting pediatric faculty to Omaha. Children’s and the UNMC College of Medicine have jointly recruited more than 20 faculty members annually for the past several years, and plan to recruit an additional 150 specialists in the next five years.
“This is a perfect example of how collaboration makes everyone better,” said Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., UNMC chancellor. “We know from experience that when children’s hospitals and academic medical centers have partnered around the country, it has always strengthened every aspect of pediatric care and the communities that we both serve. I’m thrilled that Omaha has had the same experience. This has been a tremendous partnership, and I have no doubt that it’s only going to get better as we move forward.”
“The children we serve are the heart and soul of our mission and this particular collaboration,” Dr. Azizkhan said. “This milestone is ultimately worth celebrating because of what it has meant for them: a healthier, brighter future.”