‘A Tremendous Resource’: New Health Science Education Center opens doors on UNK campus

KEARNEY – Students, staff and faculty stepped inside the future of rural health care education Wednesday morning during a “first look” event at the new Health Science Education Center II on the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus.

The three-story, 110,000-square-foot facility, located on UNK’s west campus, will serve as a hub for cutting-edge health care training, featuring advanced simulation and clinical skills laboratories, technology-rich classrooms, study, dining and lounge spaces and shared resources designed to support collaborative learning across disciplines.

“This is a tremendous resource for health professions education in central Nebraska,” said Kyle Meyer, dean of the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Allied Health Professions and associate vice chancellor for health workforce initiatives. “It offers the same learning experiences and resources that we have on our Omaha campus. It’s smaller in scale, but equivalent in terms of quality and experiences.”

The $95 million building is the second major UNMC facility on the UNK campus and, together with the original Health Science Education Center that opened in 2015, forms the Douglas A. Kristensen Rural Health Education Complex. While each building has unique learning spaces and functions, all students will use both facilities as part of an interprofessional model that emphasizes team-based care.

“The goal is to train our students together in an interprofessional manner, so they learn about each other’s professions,” Meyer said. “When they get into practice, they’ll be better equipped to provide team-based care. We know that team-based care provides better quality for patients and better satisfaction for providers.”

The new facility is already being used during a phased move-in, and it’s expected to be fully operational by May, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony planned for that month. Once it reaches capacity, UNMC’s enrollment in Kearney will grow to about 625 students, nearly doubling its current presence on campus.

SEEING THE NEXT STEP

For UNK freshman Addie Schuka, the chance to see the building in person made the future feel closer.

“It’s awesome,” said Schuka, an exercise science major from Gretna who plans to pursue occupational therapy through UNMC. “A lot of the things we saw in Omaha, they have here, and some of them are even better. It’s very motivating to see where we can be in the next few years.”

Schuka is part of the Kearney Health Opportunities Program (KHOP), a UNK-UNMC partnership designed to prepare students from rural Nebraska for health care careers in those same communities. Although she grew up in the Omaha metro area, Schuka appreciates the smaller class sizes and more personalized education offered in Kearney.

“You get to build more relationships with your peers and your professors, and that makes a big difference,” she said.

Through KHOP, she’s also gained firsthand experience in rural health care settings, including visits to hospitals such as Valley County Health System in Ord. Those opportunities reinforce the importance of training students close to the communities they may one day serve.

“When you go to those smaller hospitals, you really see how important they are to their communities,” Schuka said. “Everyone works together, and you’re able to build ongoing relationships with patients. Having facilities like this in Kearney helps prepare us for that kind of care.”

Jaycee Reynolds, a freshman pre-pharmacy student, echoed that sentiment.

She was raised in Ewing, a small town with fewer than 400 residents, giving her a clear understanding of what access to health care can look like in rural Nebraska.

“The closest hospital to my hometown is about 20 minutes away,” Reynolds said. “Doctors would come into town a couple days a week and see patients in a small clinic space at the library. I want to give back to communities like this and be one of the professionals who can make health care more accessible for rural residents.”

Also a member of the KHOP program, Reynolds appreciates the opportunity to complete her UNMC training in Kearney – on the same campus where she is earning her undergraduate degree.

“I think it’s beautiful,” she said after touring the state-of-the-art facility. “I love how it’s one big building, and the technology is so cool. It feels like a place where you can really see yourself learning and growing.”

Beyond serving UNMC programs, the new building will also house UNK’s communication disorders program, along with UNK Student Health and Counseling, and provide access to shared lab spaces for undergraduate students. Central Community College will offer nursing classes in the facility, as well, further strengthening the collaborative approach that defines the project.

MEETING A STATEWIDE NEED

Meyer called the Rural Health Education Complex “one of the most impressive partnerships” in NU history and a critical step toward improving both access to health care and the quality of those services in Nebraska. Currently, 66 of the state’s 93 counties are designated as medically underserved areas, according to Meyer, underscoring the value of training health care professionals in the communities where they are most needed.

“When students from rural Nebraska are educated closer to home and complete their clinical experiences in rural areas, they’re exposed to the opportunities and needs that help build a high-quality, sustainable rural health care workforce,” Meyer said.

He points to the original Health Science Education Center as proof of concept. Since opening in 2015, that facility has served more than 850 graduates, with about 85% of these students remaining in Nebraska to practice.

With the addition of a second building, UNMC is able to expand its nursing and allied health programs in Kearney, including medical laboratory science, medical nutrition, occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant, radiography and sonography. Medicine, pharmacy and public health are also being offered here for the first time.

“Now, we’ll really be able to educate the full complement of health care providers for rural Nebraska,” Meyer said.

UNK Chancellor Neal Schnoor called the project a milestone years in the making and an investment unlike anything else in the country.

“This will be the largest rural health initiative in the United States, and it really shows the growth of these programs,” he said, noting that roughly 1 in 4 undergraduates at UNK is currently studying health sciences. “These students do not have to leave greater Nebraska to get a world-class education.”

“For me, it’s a game-changer for greater Nebraska in terms of health care, economic development and workforce development,” Schnoor added.

When fully operational, the Rural Health Education Complex will support about 240 local jobs and have an annual economic impact estimated at $34.5 million.

“It’s just amazing to see it come to fruition,” Meyer said. “The first building was exciting and has been a great success. Adding this second resource is incredible.”