Five Nines fosters growth at cancer center

The story of Lincoln-based IT company

Five Nines and its client Cancer Partners of Nebraska is one of humble beginnings and parallel growth.

Both started small. In 2001, the earliest iteration of Five Nines was a one-man operation, the brainchild of then-recent college graduate James Bowen. He managed IT support for a small practice of providers called Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center (SENHOC), which later became Cancer Partners of Nebraska.

Two decades later, Cancer Partners of Nebraska soon will occupy space at the April Sampson Cancer Center and, when they do, Five Nines will not only be alongside them for tech support the IT company’s name also will be on the wall that honors the many donors who have made the center a reality.

“It’s been a great partnership between two local companies trying to do the best that we can,” says Bowen, now president of his company with 150 employees.

“How nice is it for us and our staff that when we show up at Cancer Partners of Nebraska’s new location, our team will get to see our name there? It’s a reminder that businesses can support each other, and everybody wins.”

When Bowen, a longtime supporter of the Bryan Foundation, heard of the opportunity to give to the cancer center, it was a no-brainer. He says. “I’m extremely proud to be associated with this project.”

Although Bowen’s family hasn’t been directly affected by cancer, “everybody has been indirectly impacted by it,” he says. The wife of Five Nines chief operating officer Brad O’Dell, Christa, passed away of ovarian cancer in April 2022. A memorial bench at the center will bear Christa’s name.

Having world-class centralized cancer care available in Lincoln will benefit the city, its businesses and its residents, Bowen says, noting that the center is a long-term investment in community well-being.

“If we want to live in a place that has this sort of health care available,” he says, “we should support it and try to foster its success in any way we can.” n

To learn how you can support the work of Bryan Health, please call 402-481-8605.