Creighton University Medical Center closes its doors for good

Creighton University Medical Center shuttered its doors for good on Friday morning

The old Creighton University Medical Center (CUMC) formerly known as St. Joseph Hospital, at 601 North 30th Street near the Creighton University campus officially shut its doors for good yesterday on Friday June 9, 2017, at 7 a.m.

Out with the old, in with the new: CHI Bergan Mercy Medical Center will take
over all of CUMC's responsibilities as a Level-1 Trauma Center and academic
medical center for the Creighton University School of Medicine

At the same time, two new medical centers run by CHI Health and the Creighton University School of Medicine will open, ensuring what is hoped to be a smooth transition and seemless continuity of care for CUMC patients.

A smaller, scaled-down CHI Health University Campus at 2412 Cuming Street will serve as a community health center and ER six blocks away from the old CUMC facilities, while a full service Level-1 Trauma center at Bergan Mercy Medical Center nine miles away will serve as the new academic medical center for Creighton University's School of Medicine.

The outdated facilities of the old CUMC buildings first opened its doors back in December 18, 1977, nearly forty years ago, as St. Joseph Hospital on 30th and Cuming Streets and was redubbed as Creighton University Medical Center in 2002 when it officially became the academic medical center for Creighton University's School of Medicine.

Opening of new CUMC University Campus downgrades trauma services of the old Creighton University hospital after struggling to maintain its trauma rating for years

The second floor of the new community health center offers only outpatient medical services

Creighton University Medical Center (CUMC), formerly known as the old St. Joseph Hospital, will soon close its doors in August 2017, but a new, scaled-back, 86,000-square-foot, $36.5 million community health center at 24th and Cuming Streets, which opened this past week, will kind of take its place.

CUMC (formerly known as St. Joseph Hospital) is closing its doors in August,
but its replacement is curiously scaling back medical services from its previous
inpatient trauma designation

The newly dubbed CHI Health University Campus at 2412 Cuming Street opened its doors for the first time Monday morning to some confusion and questions from the public.

The old CUMC was a full service, inpatient trauma center that at times struggled to maintain its Level-1 Trauma certification from the state's Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS.)

Back on October 21, 2014, the DHHS denied the hospital an application for Level-1 Trauma designation, citing CUMC for safety deficiencies in meeting four areas of comprehensive patient care standards: 1) clinical capabilities in general surgery, 2) clinical qualifications in neurosurgery, 3) clinical capabilities in orthopedic surgery, and 4) having enough verified or equivalent registered nurses or trauma nurses staffed in the emergency department.

Dr. Michael Wadman named new chairman of UNMC's emergency medicine department

UNMC's new chairman of ER, Dr. Michael Wadman

Yesterday, the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) named Dr.Michael Wadman, M.D. as their new chairman of the medical center's emergency medicine department. 

According to university officials, Dr. Wadman has been a key figure in the UNMC/Nebraska Medicine emergency medicine program for more than 20 years.

The appointment, which is subject to approval by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, was announced by Dr. Bradley Britigan, dean of the UNMC College of Medicine, and would become effective Oct. 15.

"Dr. Wadman was selected from a very competitive, highly talented pool of applicants," said Dr. Britigan. “He is an outstanding clinician who is also committed to achieving excellence in our education and research missions. At a time when major changes are taking place in emergency medicine in our community, his knowledge of the local emergency medicine environment is also a major plus."

Wadman joined UNMC's faculty back in 1994 as an assistant professor. He became an associate professor in 2004 and full professor in 2014. In 2003, he was the founding residency director of UNMC’s emergency medicine residency program, a role he served in for more than seven years.

Nebraska Medical Center again tops list of the state's top hospitals, according to U.S. News & World Reports

The Nebraska Medical Center again tops the state's top hospitals, according to U.S. News & World Reports

The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) at Omaha has again been named the top-ranked hospital in the state by the U.S. News & World Report survey.

UNMC also received high ratings in eight medical specialties:

• cancer
• gastroenterology and GI surgery
• geriatrics
• gynecology
• nephrology
• neurology and neurosurgery 
• pulmonology
• urology

“To again be named the best hospital in the state is a testament to the people who work for this organization and their continued dedication and passion,” said Dr. Dan DeBehenke, of Nebraska Medicine, in a press release.