If a community is healthy, everyone benefits. Aura Whitney-Jackson believes in this message. On Feb. 1, she began bringing the message to residents, businesses and community organizations throughout south Omaha. As the newly appointed community liaison, Whitney-Jackson is the latest addition to UNMC’s Community Partnership Initiative.
The structured effort is designed to improve the health of Nebraskans and provide faculty and students with new opportunities for research, education and patient care.
“UNMC is strongly committed to addressing the health needs of underserved areas in our community,” said Robert Bartee, UNMC executive assistant to the chancellor. “The best way to do that is to listen to our neighbors and respond accordingly.”
The south Omaha effort will be modeled after UNMC’s community partnership with north Omaha, said Ward Chambers, M.D., associate dean for planning and outreach, UNMC College of Medicine. “We intend to ask the community about its health-care needs and what we as health professionals can do to meet those needs.” Robin Kammandel, who serves as the community partnership leader, oversees the daily operations of the partnership effort.
In October 1996, UNMC’s north Omaha community partnership kicked off with the creation of the Community Care Council at the University Medical Associates Baker Place health center at 5050 Ames Ave. The council, comprised of local officials, residents and business owners, meets monthly to discuss health-care issues and concerns in the north Omaha area.
The council launch was followed by the appointment of Wayne Houston as community liaison to north Omaha. Since that time, Houston and the council have been involved in the grand opening of UMA at Baker Place, the development of its Community Health Resource Center, and the creation of a Youth Community Care Council that targets the health-care needs of north Omaha’s younger population.
In south Omaha, Dr. Chambers said, the community partnership effort will be based out of the South Omaha Neighborhood Association (SONA) building at 31st and Q streets. Key to the effort’s success is a collaborative relationship with the UNMC College of Nursing.
In October 1993, the College of Nursing opened the nurse-managed Family Health Care Center in the SONA building. The center integrates practice with research and serves as a valuable training site for nursing students. During the past year, nursing faculty and staff there conducted more than 1,600 client encounters with local community residents.
“The College of Nursing has made a substantial contribution to meeting the primary health-care needs of south Omaha during the past five years,” said Ada Lindsey, Ph.D., dean, UNMC College of Nursing. “We have a long-standing commitment to the area and look forward to expanding our efforts in conjunction with the community partnership.”
About 43 percent of the patients seen by staff at the SONA building have no insurance of any kind, Dr. Lindsey said.
With the help of Whitney-Jackson, the south Omaha community partnership’s first goal is the creation of a Community Care Council. “We want representation from all aspects of the south Omaha community, and we’ll be seeking their advice as to how to proceed from there,” Dr. Chambers said.
Whitney-Jackson, a native of Panama, is bilingual and well-known in south Omaha. For the past 17 years, she served at UNMC as manager of environmental services and before that as a social worker for the Nebraska Department of Social Services. She is active in a number of community organizations, including the Chicano Awareness Center Inc., Girls Inc. of Omaha, the Nebraska Association of Farm Workers and Goodwill Industries’ Project Resolve. She also founded the STAR Program, a mentoring activity that links UNMC faculty and staff with local students.
“As members of a community, it’s our responsibility to help others so that everyone has the opportunity for a good life,” Whitney-Jackson said. “If we help people become healthier, then we all win.”
For more information about the south Omaha community partnership, contact Whitney-Jackson at 559-5327.