Nebraska
Flatwater Explains: What is Nebraska Medicine — and how is it different from UNMC? – Flatwater Free Press
The University of Nebraska’s plan to fully acquire Nebraska Medicine, announced in January, and the ensuing opposition among some Omaha doctors kicked off a wave of headlines.
Through it all, Flatwater readers asked a simple question: What is Nebraska Medicine and how is it different from the University of Nebraska Medical Center?
The origins
What is now called Nebraska Medicine was formed in 1997 when Bishop Clarkson Memorial Hospital and University Hospital merged and created the Nebraska Health System. In 2003, its name changed to the Nebraska Medical Center.
In 2016, Nebraska Medicine was officially established as a nonprofit with shared 50-50 ownership between the University of Nebraska and Clarkson Regional Health Services. The agreement also unified three previously separate organizations — the Nebraska Medical Center, Bellevue Medical Center and UNMC Physicians — under the Nebraska Medicine name and logo.
Nebraska Medicine currently operates two hospitals, Nebraska Medical Center and Bellevue Medical Center, both in the Omaha metro area. Combined, the hospitals have more than 800 licensed beds. Nebraska Medicine has more than 9,000 employees, including more than 1,400 physicians.
Though their names are often used interchangeably, Nebraska Medicine and UNMC are two distinct organizations. Nebraska Medicine operates the hospital and handles the majority of patient care. UNMC is the NU System’s medical university.
UNMC and Nebraska Medicine are “tied at the hip” and work closely together in a “vital” partnership, said Dr. H. Dele Davies, interim chancellor of UNMC. Many physicians are employed by both organizations.
“As people go in and out of … our facilities, they can’t actually tell where UNMC begins and where Nebraska Medicine ends. And so, yes, we’re going to continue to work together,” Davies said.
Nebraska Medicine is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization governed by a separate board of directors appointed by the university’s Board of Regents and Clarkson Regional.
Though sometimes confused for each other, Clarkson Regional Health Services is a separate entity from Clarkson College, a private college with undergraduate and graduate nursing programs also located in Omaha. Clarkson College works in partnership with both Nebraska Medicine and UNMC.
What’s happening now?
In 2024, Clarkson Regional Health Services approached the university, wanting to sell its share and exit Nebraska Medicine. That started more than a year of confidential negotiations.
The university’s Board of Regents unanimously approved an agreement in January 2026 to buy out Clarkson Regional’s half of Nebraska Medicine for $500 million, and to purchase some of Clarkson’s real estate for an additional $300 million.
As part of that deal, Clarkson Regional has said it will make a $200 million donation to UNMC’s Project Health, a $2.19 billion health care center slated for the Omaha campus.
Though it will be under the university’s full ownership, Nebraska Medicine will continue to be a separate 501(c)(3), said Paul Kenney, chairman of the university’s Board of Regents. The partnership between UNMC and Nebraska Medicine will be the same as always, he said.
Nebraska Medicine will also continue to have a separate board of directors appointed by the University of Nebraska, Davies said. Its finances will also continue to be managed separately, and the status of employees of one or both organizations won’t change.
UNMC and Nebraska Medicine will continue to work together as they have before the deal. The day-to-day operations will continue, and patients will see no changes to their care, Davies said.
The Nebraska State Fair is celebrating America’s 250th anniversary with a special 72-hour flash sale on Season Passes.
From July 3 through July 5, fans can purchase a 2026 Season Pass for just $50—a significant discount from its regular value of $132.
The pass includes one admission per day for all 11 days of the 2026 Nebraska State Fair, making it ideal for visitors who plan to attend multiple days.
Fair officials say the promotion is one of the biggest Season Pass discounts offered in years and will not be extended.
After July 5, Season Passes will remain available at a higher discounted price.
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Legalizing online sports betting has met with resistance in the Nebraska Legislature for years.
Tax Relief Nebraska, a group backed by Nebraska casinos and online sports betting groups, took the issue to the people of the state through a petition drive.
Those petitions are now in, and casino officials say they expect to have enough signatures to make the November ballot — but also expect pushback through Election Day.
The case for online betting
Currently, legal sports bets cannot be placed on a phone in Nebraska. Casino operators say people who choose to wager are finding other ways to do it.
“They’re just doing it illegally through a virtual private network, or they’re driving over to the first exit between Iowa and Nebraska, placing a bet and then driving back to their home,” said Lynne McNally of Warhorse Casino.
Nebraska casino operators say the state has already collected millions of dollars in state taxes and property tax relief from casino gambling, and that online sports betting would add to that total.
A majority of Nebraskans voted for casino gambling to enter the state in 2020, and casino operators expect similar support if the online betting petition makes the November ballot.
“As you know, we got 65% on the constitutional amendment and actually got nearly 70% on the tax portion of the statute when the casinos were legalized in 2020. I think that we’ll be in that area, if not maybe a little higher than that,” McNally said.
“There’s always going to be a sector of the public that doesn’t want to gamble. They don’t want to go to our facilities and that’s just fine. I guess I have an objection with trying to tell other people what to do,” McNally said.
The opposition
The Nebraska Family Alliance stands against online gambling and plans to campaign against the initiative across the state. The nonprofit group issued a statement that reads in part: “Online sports betting has been a massive public policy failure that benefits national sportsbooks at the expense of kids, student-athletes, families and businesses. While they have more money, they don’t have the truth.”
Pat Loontjer, director of Gambling with the Good Life, has opposed expanded gambling in Nebraska for 30 years.
“They’re telling the same lie — property tax relief. Well in Nebraska you say property tax relief and everybody says where do I sign,” Loontjer said.
Loontjer also raised concerns about the impact on young people.
“Sports betting on the phone is the most addictive thing for young people, young men especially. You’ve got kids that are going to lose their scholarships, lose their future,” Loontjer said.
What comes next
If enough signatures are verified and the issue is placed on the November ballot, Warhorse Casino officials say Nebraskans could be able to make sports bets on their phones by spring of next year.
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Along with marching in the parade, the high schools will tour the U.S. Capitol, visit Mount Vernon and other monuments and museums.
Around 80 Grand Island students are making the trip. Lee said the students cover their own costs, with fundraising largely run though the school’s booster program helping offset the expense.
Bishop Neumann’s 53 students benefited from community donations, along with a holiday greenery sale and fundraisers, which Kellett said helped cover airfare and other costs.
For both directors, the trip carries extra weight tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“That’s a pretty big milestone,” Lee said. “And to be able to be a part of that is pretty neat.”
Kellett said the moment will stay with students long after the parade ends.
“These kids, they’ll be around for the 300th anniversary of the country, and they’ll be able to look back and tell their grandkids, ‘you know, I was there at 250 and was able to march in the National Independence Day Parade,’” Kellett said.
Both bands have spent the summer preparing. Grand Island started working on its music after its final spring concert in May, rehearsing its marching and music together on Tuesday evenings.
Bishop Neumann has rehearsed continuously over the summer and marched in two parades to prepare, a 150th anniversary celebration in Weston and the Papillion Days parade.
Kellett said the band’s last rehearsal in Wahoo drew residents who lined the streets holding signs and cheering the students on.
“The students have come in, and they’ve worked really hard,” Kellett said. “They have their music memorized and they’ve worked on their marching skills, and so all that effort into this they’re ready to go for the parade.”
The parade starts at 9:30 a.m. CT Saturday at Third Street and Constitution Avenue.
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