Health system intelligence profile
Nebraska Medicine / University of Nebraska Medical Center
Editorially verified · Last reviewed August 30, 2026
Intelligence summary
Established 2025
Documented successes: 17-bed living-laboratory unit opened January 2025; virtual nursing model deployed to offload admissions, discharges and patient education from bedside nurses; ceiling lift technology enabled a patient to shower in the unit's first week; AI development underway for fall-risk detection and prevention; co-led by Bethany Lowndes, PhD, MPH, CPE (Scientific Director) and Michael Hasselberg, PhD (Chief Transformation and Digital Officer)
Mandate and remit
The Innovation Design Unit is a 17-bed inpatient unit at Nebraska Medical Center that operates as a living laboratory where nurses, technologists, designers and patients co-develop and test new care delivery approaches before they are spread system-wide. Virtual nursing is a central feature, with remote nurses supporting bedside teams on admissions, discharges and patient education. The unit tests patient-controlled room environments via iPad, digital care plan visibility, medication tracking, virtual family visitation, ceiling lift technology for safe patient mobility, and AI for fall-risk detection. It is led jointly by a scientific director and a nurse executive who serves as Executive Director of System Care Delivery and Innovation. The unit opened in January 2025 after multi-year planning with CannonDesign and RDG Planning & Design.
Documented successes
17-bed living-laboratory unit opened January 2025; virtual nursing model deployed to offload admissions, discharges and patient education from bedside nurses; ceiling lift technology enabled a patient to shower in the unit's first week; AI development underway for fall-risk detection and prevention; co-led by Bethany Lowndes, PhD, MPH, CPE (Scientific Director) and Michael Hasselberg, PhD (Chief Transformation and Digital Officer)
Organizational home: Innovation Design Unit (IDU), Nebraska Medicine / University of Nebraska Medical Center
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Reviewed August 30, 2026. External source links open in a new tab.
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