Louis Burgher, MD, PhD, former Clarkson College president and hospital CEO, died July 19 at 79.
Dr. Burgher served as president and CEO of Nebraska Health System, the organization that would later become Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine — the primary clinical teaching partner for Omaha-based University of Nebraska Medical Center, according to a statement from UNMC.
Dr. Burgher played a key role in leading the 1997 merger between University Hospital and Clarkson Hospital, which created Nebraska Health System.
"Dr. Burgher was instrumental in creating the foundation that has led to making Nebraska Medicine into the extraordinary organization it is today," Jim Linder, MD, CEO and chair of the Nebraska Medicine board of directors, said in the statement. "The merger of Clarkson and University Hospitals in 1997 was complicated and required his great leadership and guidance. He was a model physician leader dedicated to supporting the staff in their delivery of patient care."
Later in his career, Dr. Burgher served as president of Clarkson College in Omaha from 2007 to 2016. He continued as president emeritus until his retirement in 2019.