Project NExT
Transforming Nebraska's State of Care
Project NExT benefits all Nebraskans by transforming the access to and the quality of health education, training, research and care. The transformational project undertaken by the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine has three phases.
Phase one of Project NExT, referred to as Project Health: Building the Healthiest Nebraska, provides needed campus enhancement to research, education, clinical and community service missions of UNMC and Nebraska Medicine.
- Phase two: Potentially provide expansion of facilities for key regional partnerships.
- Phase three: Potentially create a joint civilian-military medical surge facility through additional public-private partnerships.
Educating the Health Care Workforce
UNMC and Nebraska Medicine play a critical role in educating and training Nebraska’s health care workforce.
- Nebraska Medical Center is the state’s largest teaching hospital.
- More than 3,000 learners use Nebraska Medicine clinical locations for training each year.
- 700 residents and fellows receive clinical training at Nebraska Medicine each year.
- Nebraska Medicine has agreements with 40 to 50 higher education programs and 10 colleges of medicine to provide clinical training in its hospitals and clinics.
It is essential to prioritize health care workforce development, increase class sizes across all health professions and accelerate capable learners into health professions to better serve Nebraskans and those in many surrounding communities.
Students and Trainees
Most health care providers practicing in Nebraska were trained at UNMC and Nebraska Medicine.
of physicians, dentists, pharmacists and physician assistants practicing in Nebraska received their education at UNMC and gained clinical experience at Nebraska Medicine.
of students who entered UNMC in the 2023-24 school year were from Nebraska.
UNMC's percentage of graduates practicing direct patient care in rural areas is tied for seventh in the nation.
Expanding Across the State
UNMC has grown in Kearney, in collaboration with the University of Nebraska at Kearney, adding new facilities and expanding programs, including medicine, pharmacy and public health. The expansion will boost the number of health professions students training in the central Nebraska region by over 250%.
UNMC's expansion in Kearney will increase the number of health professions learners in the College of Nursing and College of Allied Health Professions with programs that are already in the community.
Like students on the UNMC Omaha campus, Kearney students will complete some clinical training in the Omaha community, especially when training in specialties.
Providing Health Care for all Nebraskans
Nebraska Medicine is a non-profit, integrated health care system covering metro Omaha and extending across both urban and rural areas of Nebraska. Its health care providers care for patients from every Nebraska county, all 50 states and 47 countries.
With 70 clinics offering 50 specialties and subspecialties, Nebraska Medicine ensures patients across the state receive comprehensive care. This includes 20 satellite clinics in locations such as Alma, Broken Bow, Cambridge, Columbus, Cozad, Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney, North Platte and York.
The health system’s two hospitals, Nebraska Medical Center and Bellevue Medical Center, have more than 800 licensed beds to deliver its promise of “Serious Medicine, Extraordinary Care.”
In 2023, Nebraska Medicine:
- Provided care to 267,195 patients through 1.1 million patient visits.
- Provided telehealth care through 102,000 virtual visits.
- Transplanted organs (liver, intestine, kidney, pancreas, heart and lung) into 586 patients.
- Provided cancer care to 25,801 outpatients and 1,990 inpatients.
- Accepted 3,905 inpatient transfers from across Nebraska and the U.S., a rate of almost 11 patients per day.
Changing Lives Through Clinical Research
Through Jan. 31 of fiscal year 2024, Nebraska Medicine is conducting 309 clinical trials involving 839 participants. This commitment to research ensures that Nebraska Medicine is at the forefront of medical advancements, leading to improved care for patients today and tomorrow.
UNMC Research by the Numbers
UNMC’s researchers are solving today’s critical medical questions, while inspiring the next generation of providers and researchers.
in grants and contracts.
active research projects.
faculty investigators.
Fostering Innovative Partnerships
The collaboration between UNMC and Nebraska Medicine serves a federal mission to provide strategic leadership, training and program support in conjunction with the Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services.
- UNMC receives hundreds of millions of dollars per year in federal grants and contracts, including increasing health-security funding.
- From 2014 to 2023, external funding increased from $86 million to nearly $251 million.
- From 2014 to 2023, UNMC was awarded $1.4 billion in federal contracts and grants, with annual Department of Defense funding rising from $5.1 million to $14.1 million.
A Stronger Economy
UNMC, Nebraska Medicine and affiliates create jobs and play a key role in Nebraska’s economic success.
overall economic impact on Nebraska (2021) by UNMC, Nebraska Medicine and affiliates.
jobs supported (2021).
annual economic impact by UNMC graduates working in Nebraska.
Recent News
'Dedicated to keeping personnel safe': UNMC and Air Force expand biocontainment partnership
As part of C-Stars Omaha, the U.S. Air Force partners with UNMC to improve biocontainment readiness.
Global Center for Health Security team travels to Puerto Rico
UNMC experts worked with health care collaborators in Puerto Rico on infectious disease exercises and the ISTARI isolation system.
UNMC joins western U.S. partners in infectious disease training
The infection prevention and control exercise in Alaska and Washington involved UNMC's ISTARI system.
Nebraska regents clear path for new $2.2 billion hospital for UNMC in Omaha
The University of Nebraska Medical Center won approval to make plans for a new $2.19 billion academic medical center in Omaha, which would be the largest project in university history.
Cocoonlike patient device to be tested in mock emergency
First-responders in Jefferson County, Wash., will study an infection-control prototype during simulated patient transports.
Air Force medics partner with University of Nebraska to sharpen biocontainment care skills
Lt. Gen. Robert I. Miller, U.S. Air Force Surgeon General, visited the Center for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills Omaha program, receiving updates on the program’s Principles.