May is off to a tremendous start for the College of Medicine..and there’s more to come.
The May 7 groundbreaking event for the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center has to go down as one of the most significant events in UNMC history.
It’s amazing how the public and private sectors rallied behind this project. As I listened to the speakers talk about the medical center, it was impossible not to feel great pride in the faculty and staff who make UNMC what it is.
Since the vast majority of physicians and investigators who will work in this facility are faculty members in the College of Medicine, other than the patients who will receive care there, we are perhaps the greatest beneficiary of the creation of this new facility.
Nearly 20 philanthropists or foundations contributed major gifts to the project. The generosity of Pamela Buffett, who lives in California, to make the lead gift is incredible. Special thanks also go to CL Werner for making the lead gift on the CL Werner Cancer Hospital and to Suzanne and Walter Scott for the lead gift on the Suzanne and Walter Scott Cancer Research Tower.
Although the project would not have been possible without the generosity of these individuals and the other major donors who are listed in a subsequent story in this newsletter, I want to single out for special thanks the faculty and staff of the College of Medicine who decided to provide their individual support to the project. I salute you all.
Although the focus of the groundbreaking was on the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, we should not lose sight that there remains another component of the project that is still in the design stage – the ambulatory care facility whose goal will be to provide the infrastructure we need to expand our non-cancer-related ambulatory care and to meet the changing care models that will be coming with health care reform.
Many individuals within the clinical enterprise have spent countless hours working on this and will continue to do so until the plan is complete. Your efforts are not being overlooked and are also critical to the long-term success of UNMC.
In just over a week, another historic event for the College of Medicine will occur – the grand opening of the Stanley M. Truhlsen Eye Institute on May 22.
Stan Truhlsen, M.D., has been associated with UNMC throughout his distinguished career. We are honored that he is giving back to “his university” and taking our ophthalmology program to the next level.
This outstanding facility will be the first step in creating an environment that can place UNMC in the same company as the leading academic eye centers in the country. Dr. Quan Nguyen, who arrived from Johns Hopkins in March to assume the chairmanship of the department, is already hard at work recruiting new faculty and staff to fill the facility. From what I saw of the facility during a preview tour last week, it will be a great draw for recruitment, but most importantly, it will dramatically improve patient care, education and research.
Finally, I want to salute all students from the College of Medicine who received their degrees at commencement this month. It is a great accomplishment. I have no doubt that you will make us proud.