Nebraska Medical Center

The Nebraska Medical Center (formerly the Nebraska Health System) is a complex of hospitals, medical clinics, and health care colleges located in Omaha, Nebraska. It was formed by the merger of Bishop Clarkson Memorial Hospital and the adjacent University of Nebraska Medical Center in 1997. The facility 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 was named one of America’s best hospitals in U.S. News & World Report’s 2008 publication for Cancer and Neurology & Neurosurgery.

History

The Nebraska Medical Center was created in 1997 after University Hospital merged with Bishop Clarkson Memorial Hospital.

Treatment of 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak victim

In September 2014, the hospital's medical director, Dr. Phil Smith, stated it would be receiving Boston native, Dr. Rick Sacra, 51, from a Liberia hospital, where he was being treated for the Ebola virus disease, as a victim of the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak. Dr. Sacra, who was deemed stable enough to make the long plane flight, and who left the Liberian hospital and boarded the plane under his own power, arrived at the hospital at 6:53 a.m. on Friday, September 4, 2014. Dr. Sacra wanted to be a part of relief efforts in Africa after he learned of the infection of two other SIM missionaries, Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, who were successfully treated with the still-experimental ZMapp anti-Ebola drug (the company that made it ran out of it) at Emory University Hospital, near the CDC, in Atlanta- the first two Americans to be treated for Ebola at a U.S. hospital in that outbreak. Both the Nebraska and the Georgia tertiary care teaching hospitals are among the four U.S. facilities best suited for the treatment of Ebola patients; the Nebraska facility features the largest one, a 10-bed isolation unit. Dr. Sacra's wife, Debbie, at a news conference at the Worcester, Massachusetts-based UMass Memorial Medical Center, stated that her husband was in good spirits and had willingly chosen to go, knowing the risks. No further information beyond the above could be provided because of public health and patient confidentiality regulations.[1] On September 25, Sacra was declared Ebola-free and released from the hospital.[2]

Operations

The facility is a private non-profit hospital governed by a board of directors. Employees at the Nebraska Medical Center report to the president and CEO.

The Nebraska Medical Center is the largest health care facility in Nebraska, with more than 5,700 employees and more than 1,000 physicians on staff. Physicians at the center practice in all major specialties and sub-specialties attracting patients from across the region and from around the world. It is a 624-acute-care-bed facility with more than 350 medical and surgical residents and assists in the training and education of more than 1,000 students.

Patient load

In fiscal year 2009, The Nebraska Medical Center treated more than 24,000 inpatients and had more than 480,000 encounters in outpatient settings including diagnostic testing, radiology and specialty clinics. The medical center has treated patients from all 50 states and the District of Columbia and 43 foreign countries.

The Nebraska Medical Center's stroke program, heart failure program and acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) program have all received the "Gold Seal of Approval" certification from The Joint Commission, making these services the first nationally certified programs of their kind in the state of Nebraska. The Nebraska Medical Center is also the only hospital in the state that qualifies for the Level 4 (highest) designation per the standards of the National Association of Epilepsy Centers.

Major facilities

The Nebraska Medical Center’s main campus, located in midtown Omaha, is anchored by Clarkson Tower, University Tower, Lied Transplant Center and the Hixson-Lied Center. Additional facilities in Omaha include nine outpatient clinics and Nebraska Orthopaedic Hospital. The hospital provides a communication network to facilitate the education of, and sharing of expertise with, small rural facilities.

The Lied Transplant Center, completed in 1999, is a 13-story building houses a 24-hour clinic, research labs and suites for patients and families. The Eppley Cancer Center teams University of Nebraska Medical Center researchers with patient care physicians for the best possible treatment of cancer. In 2005, the Hixson-Lied Center for Clinical Excellence was opened with a formal dedication and public tours. The new facility covers 165,000 square feet (15,300 m2) over four floors. The building houses emergency, radiology, cardiology, surgery and the newborn intensive care unit. Also in 2005, CDC Director Julie Gerberding, M.D. joined physicians at The Nebraska Medical Center for the opening of the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit. In 2008, The Nebraska Medical Center opened a new Diabetes Center, the only one of its kind in the state and in the region dedicated to offering comprehensive care for patients with diabetes. In 2010, The Nebraska Medical Center partnered with UNMC Physicians and a group of physicians from Bellevue, Nebraska to open that city's first civilian hospital, Bellevue Medical Center.

University of Nebraska Medical Center

Although it is the primary teaching hospital for the adjacent University of Nebraska Medical Center, the Nebraska Medical Center is a separate entity administratively. Employees at UNMC report to the chancellor of the University of Nebraska.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://news.msn.com/us/us-doctor-infected-with-ebola-heading-to-nebraska
  2. ↑ "American Doctor With Ebola Is 'Grateful' Following Release From Hospital". ABC News. September 25, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.

External links

Coordinates: 41°15′22″N 95°58′39″W / 41.25611°N 95.97750°W