Bergan Mercy Medical Center in Omaha will be the site of an academic medical center and a Level One trauma program.
Last week, the Alegent Creighton Health Board of Directors approved an academic medical center and Level One Trauma program at that hospital. Right now, the trauma program is located at Creighton University Medical Center. Alegent Creighton Health president and CEO Rick Hachten says the decision has been in the works for a while and was one of three options the board considered.
“One of which would be to upgrade the Creighton University Medical Center facility, that would be at an estimated cost of about $270 million to enable it to even manage its current volume. The second option was to consider expanding Bergan Mercy Medical Center to accommodate an academic medical center. And the third was to build an all-new academic medical center.”
Hachten says the Bergan Mercy project will take three years and cost up to $157 million. He says the move will provide more opportunities for medical students.
“Students will have access to not only more patients, because of having a much larger academic medical center on the inpatient side, but also a vast array of opportunities in the outpatient arena where we have many, many, many locations.”
Alegent and Creighton entered in to an agreement in September 2012. Hachten says there are plans to develop a new ambulatory care center near CUMC.
Alegent Creighton is also in the process of consolidating with Catholic Health Initiatives Nebraska.