Creighton Action with Alegent Health Triggers Psychiatry
Department Breakup with UNMC
In response to a recent announcement by Creighton University that
it has signed an agreement with Alegent Health regarding behavioral health,
University of Nebraska Medical Center officials announced today that the
agreement violates the spirit and letter of the combined Creighton/Nebraska
Department of Psychiatry contract. The department of psychiatry is a unit
of the UNMC College of Medicine.
“Creighton’s unilateral action to establish a new primary teaching
site for the combined department is a breach of our Academic Affiliation
Agreement,” said Harold M. Maurer, M.D., dean of the UNMC College of Medicine.
“We interpret this unilateral action as notice of termination of our 11-year
partnership.
“UNMC was not a party to discussions that involved the future
of one of our core academic programs. We were greatly concerned about losing
control of our educational mission, and for this reason, we repeatedly
informed Creighton officials that any unilateral action on their part would
be viewed as a violation of our agreement and indicative of their desire
to terminate the combined department.”
William O. Berndt, Ph.D., UNMC chancellor echoed Dr. Maurer’s
sentiments, in saying, “Creighton’s action seriously threatens UNMC’s ability
to control its academic mission. Our partnership with Creighton in providing
educational opportunities for psychiatry residents and medical students
has been a good one. We regret that it has to end this way.”
Dr. Maurer noted that UNMC provided approximately 70 percent of
the funding for the budget of the Creighton/Nebraska Department of Psychiatry.
The combined department was formed in 1987 in an effort to maximize
resources and provide increased educational opportunities for medical students
and resident physicians at Creighton University and the UNMC.
Under the academic affiliation agreement, students and residents
receive educational training at UNMC, the Saint Joseph Center for Mental
Health, Saint Joseph Hospital and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Each year, approximately 250 UNMC and Creighton medical students
perform clinical clerkships
in psychiatry. These clerkships involve seeing mental health patients
for six weeks at UNMC and eight weeks at Creighton. The psychiatry clerkship
is one of five clerkships required of medical students. The other clerkships
are obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, surgery and internal medicine.
The Creighton/Nebraska Department of Psychiatry is accredited
for up to 42 resident physicians. The program has been averaging between
30 and 32 residents per year. All physicians must complete residency training
before they can practice. Residency programs in psychiatry range from one
to four years and include general psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry,
and subspecialty psychiatry dealing with geriatrics and addictions.
The Creighton/Nebraska Department of Psychiatry is headed by David
Folks, M.D., who serves as professor and chair of the department. Dr. Folks
came to Omaha in 1993 to head the department after serving on the faculty
at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Dr. Maurer said UNMC and Nebraska Health System had been in discussions
with Methodist Health System to explore the development of several complementary
programs for the combined psychiatry department. These complementary programs
were proposed by Dr. Folks. Creighton was aware of and supportive of these
talks, Dr. Maurer said. However, the announcement of Creighton’s agreement
with Alegent Health altered the direction of these discussions.
Dr. Berndt said the discussions have now been extended to look
at the possibility of UNMC psychiatry residents and students receiving
all their educational training through Nebraska Health System and Methodist
Richard Young, the mental health facility of the Methodist Health System.
Louis W. Burgher, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer
of Nebraska Health System, said the discussions hold much promise.
“Nebraska Health System supports UNMC in its action to strengthen its academic
mission. We look forward to playing a role in this collaborative effort
with UNMC and Methodist Health System to develop a community-wide service.”
Stephen D. Long, president and chief executive officer of the
Methodist Health System, said, “Methodist Hospital and Methodist Health
System have supported UNMC’s academic mission for nearly 30 years. We believe
this would be a natural alliance that would strengthen the services offered
by both organizations.”
Burgher and Long said the ongoing discussions with UNMC will determine
the feasibility of a partnership among the three institutions. They expect
the feasibility review to be completed by the end of September.