CHI creates new academic medical center on Bergan Mercy Medical Center campus

The Network Board of Directors for Alegent Creighton Health/Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) voted today to move forward with creating a new academic medical center on the Bergan Mercy Medical Center campus, complete with a Level One trauma program. The move will take two to three years and require an investment of $145-$157 million.

"This monumental decision demonstrates the trust the Network Board has in Alegent Creighton Health and Creighton University to create something better and provide the best possible healthcare services for the communities we serve in an ever-changing healthcare environment," said Richard A. Hachten II, F.A.C.H.E., Alegent Creighton Health president and chief executive officer. "This bold vision provides a roadmap for our future as we navigate healthcare reform, mounting pressures for more affordable health care and the call for greater efficiencies in higher education."

Alegent Creighton Health and Creighton University established their affiliation in 2012 with the goal of creating a new and better model for health sciences education and patient care delivery supported by the best academic medical center in the region.
"We will depend on academic and campus leaders, physicians and service line workers and our community to help us to design a transformational academic medical center that provide excellent patient care but continued quality education," said Timothy R. Lannon, S.J., Creighton University president. "We will continue to be guided by our faith-based mission, our commitment to education and research, and our tradition of special concern for those most in need. These are commitments from which we will not waver."

In making their decision, the Network Board reaffirmed its commitment to all the communities served and pledges to work with those same communities to design a new ambulatory center to meet the needs of residents at, or near, the current 30th and Cuming Streets location. The new facility will include primary care, specialty care, wellness services and a freestanding emergency center. Alegent Creighton Health and the University will partner on providing the needed services for the area.

The plan will also include work with homeowners in the Bergan Mercy neighborhood to minimize disruption.

For students, the new academic medical center will provide opportunities for expanded clinical, research and training capabilities.

"Medical students at Creighton don't just want to have the best possible learning environment; we want to have that coupled with the Jesuit values of caring for those most in need. Those are why we exist as an institution, and they energize me every morning when I get out of bed. While the Bergan Mercy campus positions us to grow and expand our educational opportunities to make us outstanding candidates for residencies and beyond, I also want to ensure our continued commitment to the values that brought me into medicine," says Steve Brannan, a third-year medical student and president of the Creighton Medical Government. "I am grateful Creighton has positioned itself for long-term success, and am reassured by the administrators working hard to maintain and improve on our values-based education."