# NU opens nation's largest rural health education complex in Kearney **Published:** 2026-05-15T21:21:00.000Z **Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nu-officials-celebrate-opening-of-medical-school-expanded-rural-health-teaching-complex-in-kearney/) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/nu-opens-nation-s-largest-rural-health-education-complex-in-kearney KEARNEY, Neb. — The University of Nebraska Medical Center and University of Nebraska at Kearney on Thursday formally celebrated the opening of the [Douglas A. Kristensen Rural Health Education Complex](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nu-officials-celebrate-opening-of-medical-school-expanded-rural-health-teaching-complex-in-kearney/), a $115 million facility that is the largest rural healthcare teaching facility in the country. The complex is expected to double the number of health care students on the UNK campus to approximately 625 students. The new $95 million, three-story, 110,000-square-foot Health Science Education Center II, which opened in January, joins the original Health Science Education Center I that opened in 2015. The expansion enables UNMC to offer medicine, pharmacy and public health programs in Kearney for the first time, while also expanding programs in allied health and nursing across 14 academic programs total. "This is a historic day for the University of Nebraska System and the state of Nebraska," said NU President Jeffrey P. Gold. "The newly opened Health Science Education Center II will significantly improve the healthcare workforce for our state." The complex addresses a critical challenge facing Nebraska: [83% of Nebraska's practicing healthcare providers are located in metropolitan areas, while only about 65% of the state's population lives in those communities](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nu-officials-celebrate-opening-of-medical-school-expanded-rural-health-teaching-complex-in-kearney/). According to state officials, [every rural county in Nebraska is designated a shortage area for at least one type of care provider and 14 counties have no primary care providers](https://www.cfra.org/news-release/new-paper-looks-health-care-workforce-shortage-rural-communities). "Students no longer must leave central Nebraska to access a world-class healthcare education," said UNK Chancellor Neal Schnoor. "They can learn here, train here and ultimately build their careers and lives here." The philanthropic community committed $28.5 million to support the building project. The complex was named in honor of former UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen at the request of lead donor, the William and Ruth Scott Family Foundation. Federal American Rescue Plan Act funding of $60 million allocated by the Nebraska Legislature also supported the project, along with $5 million from the City of Kearney and $1.5 million from Central Community College. UNMC's [Kearney Health Opportunities Program (KHOP), a cooperative program between UNK and UNMC since 2010, recruits students from greater Nebraska and prepares them to practice healthcare in rural areas](https://ruralradio.com/maxcountry/news/unmc-unk-celebrate-opening-of-rural-health-education-complex/). KHOP students receive full tuition scholarships to UNK and are conditionally guaranteed admission to their specified UNMC program. "This new health sciences complex stands as a promise: the promise that students should be able to pursue their dream of becoming a healthcare professional close to home," said UNMC Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies. ## Sources - [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nu-officials-celebrate-opening-of-medical-school-expanded-rural-health-teaching-complex-in-kearney/) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nu-officials-celebrate-opening-of-medical-school-expanded-rural-health-teaching-complex-in-kearney/.