Adam RollinsThis story was originally published in the Government Contracting Pipeline newsletter from Strategic Partnerships, Inc. To have the latest government contracting news stories from across the country delivered straight to your inbox, click here to subscribe.
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) has been given the greenlight to move its $2.2 billion healthcare facility project into the design phase. A construction contract has not yet been awarded. Officials anticipate breaking ground in August 2025.
The UN Board of Regents’ approval marks the start of the university’s most ambitious public-private partnership (P3) in history: Project NExT. The healthcare facility – known as Project Health: Building the Healthiest Nebraska – is the first part of a three-phase plan to transform the UNMC campus’ healthcare facilities and research capabilities.
Project Health will be located on a 7.5-acre site on the center’s main campus. Once built, the facility will be the primary in-patient clinical hospital for UNMC, providing more than 550 beds. The project will offer a modern environment for learning, bolstering the university’s inpatient clinical education offerings.
The facility will expand UNMC’s capacity to meet the state’s healthcare needs by increasing classroom and residency sizes and enhancing research, education, clinical and community service programs. It will also replace outdated facilities that no longer meet the university’s medical education standards.
Approximately $50 million will fund the project’s design work. Once Project Health has been completed, the university will kickstart the next two phases of Project NExT. Phase 2 would potentially expand existing facilities to support key regional partnerships. Phase 3 would lay the groundwork for a joint civilian-military medical surge facility through a selection of P3s.
Image by Darko Stojanovic from Pixabay
