The Nebraska Board of Regents voted to allow Ohama-based University of Nebraska Medical Center to engage with design and construction planning teams for a $2.19 billion academic medical center project, the Omaha World-Herald reported Oct. 5.
The new academic medical center will provide more modern spaces where UNMC can train the next generation of healthcare providers, many of which are in short supply, especially in the state's rural areas, according to the report.
The project is expected to allow UNMC to add about 100 new physician residency training positions by 2030, the report said.
"It is critically important to understand, if we're going to continue to provide professionals to serve the rural communities, we have to have a world-class training site in order to recruit faculty and, frankly, to bring students from all over the country here who want to learn here and will want to set down their roots and care for Nebraskans," UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey Gold, MD, told the news outlet.
University officials are hoping to have the design and construction planning teams in place by the end of 2023, according to the report. The teams would create a detailed plan for the project that would also need approval. Construction work could begin in winter 2024 or spring 2025.