I’m pleased to report that things are moving forward nicely with our OneTeam clinical enterprise initiative.
The members of the leadership team and advisory board have been selected and are detailed in this newsletter. In a little over a week, the management team will convene in Nebraska City for a retreat and will further accelerate the process of moving the new enterprise forward.
In the meantime, preparations are in the final stages for the launch of more than 40 process improvement initiatives on Feb. 1. These initiatives are integral to the transition of our culture and the structure of a single enterprise.
There have been a number of decisions and initiatives that have been difficult to advance in the absence of the transition to our new clinical organizational structure. With the clinical enterprise coming together, the floodgates are beginning to open.
Agreement has been reached to proceed with the construction of a new ambulatory clinic and ambulatory surgical facility at 41st and Emile streets, as well as moving forward on plans for an ambulatory surgery facility at Village Pointe.
The clinical enterprise has agreed to join eight other hospitals to form a regional provider network that stretches across Nebraska and into western Iowa.
We also are now in a position to complete a number of important leadership recruitments. As described in more detail in this newsletter, I am very pleased that Dr. Matthew Rizzo from the University of Iowa will be joining UNMC as chairman of the department of neurological sciences on April 1.
This is an important hire for the College of Medicine. Dr. Rizzo has tremendous experience in interdisciplinary program development. By partnering with Dr. Howard Gendelman in pharmacology and experimental neuroscience, we believe UNMC is well positioned to become a national leader in neurological sciences.
We also will soon be initiating the search for a new chair of internal medicine in response to Dr. Lyn Klassen’s announcement a few months ago of his desire to step down from that position once a successor is identified.
Finally, let me close by acknowledging the truly illustrious career of UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer M.D., as he steps down as chancellor at the end of January after 15 years as chancellor and five years as dean of the College of Medicine. His accomplishments have transformed our medical center. We wish him well in his new role at the University of Nebraska Foundation and look forward to his continued valuable contributions as a full-time faculty member in the department of pediatrics for the College of Medicine.
On Feb. 1, we will welcome our new chancellor – Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D. – and look forward to working with him as we begin the next chapter in UNMC’s rich history.