Project NExT
Transforming Nebraska's State of Care
Project Health, a $2.19 billion health care facility at UNMC and Nebraska Medicine, will be a clinical learning center to educate and train the next generation of health care providers, conduct research and offer clinical trials.
Project Health is the first phase of Project NExT, a transformational project undertaken by the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine. Project NExT has three phases:
- 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.
56%
of physicians, dentists, pharmacists and physician assistants practicing in Nebraska received their education at UNMC and gained clinical experience at Nebraska Medicine.
71%
of students who entered UNMC in the 2023-24 school year were from Nebraska.
7th
UNMC's percentage of graduates practicing direct patient care in rural areas is tied for seventh in the nation.
Expanding Across the State
For the first time, UNMC will educate physicians, pharmacists and public health professionals in rural Nebraska. The project also will expand UNMC's allied health and nursing programs.
As part of this plan to increase the rural health care workforce, the Douglas A. Kristensen Rural Health Education Complex at the University of Nebraska at Kearney also will offer professional development, training and continuing education opportunities for existing health care workers and support research that improves the lives of Nebraskans. At full implementation, total enrollment at UNMC-Kearney will be nearly 700 learners, with more than 600 on campus.
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 nonprofit, 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.
$268.6 million
total research expenditures, 2023-24.
1,485
active research projects.
523
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 2024, external funding increased from $86 million to nearly $269 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.
$7.7 billion
overall economic impact on Nebraska (2024) by UNMC, Nebraska Medicine and affiliates.
96,215
jobs supported (2024).
$5.1 billion
annual economic impact by UNMC graduates working in Nebraska.