New Health Sciences Education Building Debuts at Creighton

By Eric Althoff

OMAHA—Creighton University has opened its new CL and Rachel Werner Center for Health Sciences Education, named in honor of major donors to the university. As designed by RDG Planning & Design, the new health sciences education center will focus on interprofessional education for the 21st century.

The 145,000-square-foot space is the new home for Creighton’s School of Medicine, which is anticipated to serve nearly 6,000 students each year. RDG’s design emphasizes collaborative focus between health professionals and EMS technicians to work and learn from one another in a single space.  The space also features an interdisciplinary simulation center and group classrooms to serve both synchronous and asynchronous distance learning in addition to in-person instruction.

“The CL and Rachel Werner Center is a beacon of the growth and progress of Creighton’s health sciences enterprise, which teaches a different kind of care—one that is holistic, empathetic and rooted in our Jesuit values,” Creighton President the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, Ph.D., said of the new building.  “This facility will grow and deepen the connections we are already making with the patients and communities our health sciences alumni serve.”

The Werner Center is the third collaboration between Creighton University and RDG on the heels of work at the School of Dentistry as well as Creighton’s Health Sciences Campus, located in Phoenix.

“Creighton’s continuous investment in the expansion of its medical education facilities and programs positions the university as an unmatched leader in health sciences education,” said RDG Partner and Architect Brian Halsey.  “By designing spaces that support the development of practice-ready healthcare professionals, we’re able to support Creighton’s mission of public health and well-being, both locally and nationally.”

The Werner Center broke ground in early 2021.

RDG operates from offices in Colorado, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska.