The University of Nebraska Medical Center has set a goal to raise $100,000 for the UNMC Haitian Relief and Outreach Fund through the University of Nebraska Foundation.
The fund — which to this point has raised about $10,000 — supports relief missions such as the one undertaken by 13 medical center volunteers who arrived in Haiti last weekend.
UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, hope to send multiple groups of volunteers to assist in Haiti, where a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on Jan. 12 left hundreds of thousands of people dead and wounded.
"We have many outstanding volunteers who want to go to Haiti to help and are even willing to pay their own way to do so," said Ayman El-Mohandes, M.B.B.Ch., M.D., M.P.H., dean of the College of Public Health and a co-leader of UNMC’s Haitian response activities. "This fund supports their efforts and reduces the personal financial burdens on these amazing people."
Presently, there is a major need for more bedside nurses to assist with wound care, said Nick Hall, a nurse at The Nebraska Medical Center, who is in Haiti this week.
A second group of people to be deployed to Haiti is being organized this week and will focus on this need for more nurses.
There are several ways to donate to the fund, including:
- Online at http://nufoundation.org/haiti; and
- Through the mail by sending donations to:
University of Nebraska Foundation
2285 S. 67th St., Suite 200
Omaha, NE 68106
Two local businesses have programs to support the UNMC fund. Union Pacific Railroad has agreed to match dollar-for-dollar employee contributions to the UNMC fund. Midwest Laboratories has set up a similar program that runs through Friday.
Businesses interested in setting up matching programs should contact Karen Levin of the University of Nebraska Foundation at 402-502-4921.
In addition, a non-profit organization will raise money for the fund at two “State of the Union Watch Parties” in Lincoln and Omaha on Wednesday evening.
The Lincoln party will be held at Zen’s, 122 N. 11th St., and the Omaha party will be held at Clancy’s, 7120 Pacific St. Both parties start at 7:30 p.m.
As the state’s only academic health science center, UNMC is on the leading edge of health care. Breakthroughs are possible because hard-working researchers, educators and clinicians are resolved to work together to fuel discovery. In 2009, UNMC’s extramural research support topped $100 million for the first time, resulting in the creation of 3,600 jobs in Nebraska. UNMC’s academic excellence is shown through its award-winning programs, and its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through its commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading health care centers. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 550 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.
With a reputation for excellence, innovation and extraordinary patient care, The Nebraska Medical Center has earned J.D. Power and Associates’ Hospital of Distinction award for inpatient services for four consecutive years. It is a US News & World Report 2008 “Best Hospital” for Cancer, Neurology and Neurosurgery. It also received the 2009 Consumer Choice Award, a mark of patient satisfaction as selected by healthcare consumers and has achieved Magnet recognition status for nursing excellence, Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals Performance Improvement Leader recognition, as well as the Award of Progress from the state of Nebraska’s Edgerton Quality Awards Program. As the teaching hospital for the University of Nebraska Medical Center, this 624 licensed bed academic medical center has an international reputation for providing solid organ and bone marrow transplantation services and is well known nationally and regionally for its oncology, neurology and cardiology programs. The Nebraska Medical Center can be found online at www.nebraskamed.com.