On Mar. 7, 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) commissioned the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit (NBU) at the Nebraska Medical Center and UNMC. The funding came from federal bioterrorism dollars allocated to Nebraska, along with contributions from The UNMC.

There are only two other biocontainment patient care units in the country. The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases houses a two-bed special Bio-safety patient care suite at Ft. Detrick, Md., for military members and investigators who may be exposed to infectious agents, and the CDC has a two-bed unit at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

The NBU was activated in the fall of 2014 to receive U.S. citizens with Ebola virus disease medically evacuated from Africa. The outstanding staff received numerous awards for its courageous and extraordinary level of care including recognition from the White House, the Nebraska Legislature and the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.

In addition, they were honored as “Midlanders of the Year” by the Omaha World-Herald. In 2020, the NBU was again activated for the care and management of U.S. citizens from Wuhan, China, and the Diamond Princess Cruise ship for COVID-19.

The Nebraska Biocontainment Unit was one of three units selected to care for United States citizens medically evacuated from Africa with the Ebola virus. The unit is a secured area with highly trained staff who safely provide all levels of care to patients infected with highly hazardous communicable diseases.