The transfer of management of the University Health Center to Nebraska Medicine took another step toward completion with the announcement this week of a finalized agreement. The agreement allows UHC to take advantage of the expertise of a world-class health care organization in responding to the health care needs of University of Nebraska-Lincoln students, faculty and staff.

The goal of the partnership is to ensure expert management of the health care offered to students in a state-of-the-art environment responsive to the changing world of health care delivery and the needs of students.

“Our goal for the University Health Center is to improve the quality of care, increase access to the health care providers and offer additional services to (UNL),” said University of Nebraska Medical Center Chancellor and Nebraska Medicine Board President Jeffrey P. Gold. “There may also be educational opportunities for nursing students, created by sharing space with the health center.”

Extended hours of operation and access to expanded pharmacy services began for the University Health Center this semester. As Nebraska Medicine patients, UNL students will also have access to online medical records through One Chart Patient by next summer.

The new UHC facility and nursing school is scheduled for completion November 2017, and will be located south of the Beadle Center on the west side of Antelope Valley Parkway. Students, health center staff and other stakeholders will have an opportunity to weigh in on plans for the new space. Construction is to begin in June.

The cutting-edge building will facilitate the highest quality of patient care, sized to provide programmatic capacity to expand health care services based on projected student patient volumes and to consolidate counseling and psychological services into one campus location.

The new building will provide medical, dental and physical therapy clinic areas and the infrastructure to accommodate contemporary health care technology. It also will be the first permanent home for the College of Nursing in Lincoln, replacing the college’s downtown location.

Under the agreement, all UHC employees will become a part of the Nebraska Medicine team Jan. 1. Nebraska Medicine is the primary clinical partner of the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

“We look forward to welcoming these colleagues into the organization,” said Nebraska Medicine Interim CEO Rosanna Morris. “Their experience will ensure our brand promise of ‘Serious Medicine. Extraordinary Care’ will be upheld through every patient treated at the University Health Center.”