Omaha City Council member Juanita Johnson visited UNMC in late November.
Johnson, who was elected this year in Omaha’s District 2, was making her first official visit to the medical center. She met with UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, Vice Chancellor for External Relations Bob Bartee and other UNMC leaders before taking a tour of the iEXCEL program in the Davis Global Center.
Johnson said she was impressed by the cutting-edge technology at iEXCEL and the potential it brought to Omaha.
"I see possibility being endless and opportunities being incredible, both from a medical standpoint and from a technology standpoint," Johnson said, pointing as well to the potential for economic growth that the UNMC-City of Omaha partnership provides.
"I’m really amazed," she said. "This is something I did not expect when I came through the door, but I’m very impressed with what I see."
Still, Johnson, an Omaha native, said she was not surprised to see UNMC taking the lead in the state and nationally.
"The university, as I’ve always seen from a very young age, is always on the cutting edge," she said. "You’re always advancing here and definitely helping the overall community in Omaha — and beyond that, throughout the United States and the world."