Nebraska Medicine (formerly, The Nebraska Medical Center, Nebraska Health System), is a private not-for-profit American healthcare company based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company was created as Nebraska Health System (NHS) in 1997, when Bishop Clarkson Hospital merged with the adjacent University Hospital in midtown Omaha. Renamed The Nebraska Medical Center in 2003, in 2014 the company merged with UNMC Physicians and Bellevue Medical Center to become Nebraska Medicine. The company has full ownership of two hospitals and 39 specialty and primary care clinics in and around Omaha, with partial ownership in two rural hospitals and a specialty hospital. Nebraska Medicine's main campus, Nebraska Medicine – Nebraska Medical Center, has 718 beds, while its Bellevue Medical Center campus has 91 beds.
The company operates the largest of only four dedicated biocontainment units in the United States, and is particularly recognized for programs in fields such as organ transplantation, cancer treatment, gastroenterology, neurology, neurosurgery, COPD, heart bypass surgery, heart failure treatment, and hip replacement. Ranked the No. 1 hospital in Nebraska and in Omaha by U.S. News & World Report in 2019, the publication also ranked Nebraska Medicine No. 35 in the United States for cancer and the best hospital in Nebraska. Nebraska Medicine operates as an independent clinical partner of the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
History
1869–1996: Nebraska Health System
Nebraska Medicine's predecessor company, Nebraska Health System (NHS), was formed in 1997 through the merger of Bishop Clarkson Memorial Hospital and University Hospital. Adjacent to the University of Nebraska's medical campus in midtown Omaha; both founding entities had been active in Nebraska for some time. Clarkson Hospital had been founded in 1869 and University Hospital in 1917, making Nebraska Health System the oldest healthcare organization in the state of Nebraska. In 1998, Nebraska Health System opened the Lied Transplant Center on its Omaha campus.
2003–2013: The Nebraska Medical Center
Nebraska Health System was renamed The Nebraska Medical Center in 2003, with the adjacent University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) remaining its primary clinical partner. UNMC had been founded in 1881 as the Omaha Medical College before associating with the University of Nebraska system. In 2005, The Nebraska Medical Center opened the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit (NBU) as a collaboration with UNMC, also opening the Hixson-Lied Center on the Omaha campus. The Nebraska Medical Center's nearby Village Pointe Cancer Center opened in 2008. Nebraska Medicine was named one of the best hospitals in U.S. News & World Report’s 2008 publication for Cancer and Neurology & Neurosurgery. In 2010, The Nebraska Medical Center opened Bellevue Medical Center, a secondary hospital in nearby Bellevue, Sarpy County. The following year, the company began to implement a new $87 million electronic health record system.
2014–2016: Nebraska Medicine
In October 2014, it was announced that The Nebraska Medical Center, Bellevue Medical Center and UNMC Physicians would begin operating under Nebraska Medicine as one entity. UNMC Physicians, a clinical group formed in 1971, brought 39 ambulatory clinics and a physician's practice into Nebraska Medicine. The hospitals and clinics within the Nebraska Medicine network were also renamed, as Nebraska Medicine – Nebraska Medical Center, Nebraska Medicine – Bellevue, Nebraska Medicine – Village Pointe, Nebraska Medicine – Eagle Run, and others. UNMC remained independent, but changed its branding to reflect the new Nebraska Medicine logo.
On March 23, 2015, Rosanna Morris was named interim CEO of Nebraska Medicine and Bradley Britigan was made interim president. Daniel DeBehnke succeeded as CEO and president in May 2016. In 2016, Nebraska Medicine finished an expansion of its Village Pointe location, expanding on an outpatient surgery center and clinics.
Nebraska Medicine paid $130 million in January 2016 to fully purchase Bellevue Medical Center, which it had previously been leasing. At the time, Nebraska Medicine also was partial owner of the Nebraska Orthopaedic Hospital in Omaha. In February 2016, Nebraska Medicine reached Stage 7 on the Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) developed by HIMSS Analytics. In 2016, Nebraska Medicine finished an expansion of its Village Pointe location, expanding on an outpatient surgery center and clinics. After physicians at Internal Medical Associates requested the merge, in July 2016, Nebraska Medicine assumed operations of Internal Medical Associates in Grand Island, Nebraska.