UNMC College of Nursing West Nebraska Division in
Scottsbluff Invites Public to Feb. 13 Open House to Celebrate Opening of
New Diabetes Clinic
The University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing West Nebraska
Division in Scottsbluff will celebrate the opening of a diabetes clinic
in Scottsbluff and its partnership with seven other Panhandle agencies.
The college received a three-year, $536,000 grant from the Excellence in
Health Care Fund of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
to establish a diabetes clinic that will target Native American, Hispanic,
and other populations in which diabetes is prevalent.
The clinic will celebrate its grand opening from 3 to 5 p.m. MST
Tuesday, Feb. 13, at its main office, 525 E. Overland Drive in Scottsbluff,
said Gloria Gross, Ph.D., assistant dean of the UNMC College of Nursing.
“Half of all diabetics don’t know they have the disease,” Dr. Gross
said. “Native American and Hispanic populations are especially at risk,
because they are two-and-a-half to four times as likely to get the disease.
And they have many more serious complications of diabetes, such as amputation,
blindness and renal failure.”
The number of Hispanics in the 11 Panhandle counties has increased by
30 percent, Gross noted. According to the 1997 Nebraska Census, the area
has an estimated 8,600 Hispanics, 2,000 Native Americans, and 3,000 seasonal
workers in the 11 counties.
Seven partners will assist the clinic in reaching out to potential clients.
They include:
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Panhandle Community Services, directed by Steven Palmieri in Gering
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Western Community Health Resources (WCHR) in Chadron
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Guadalupe Center in Scottsbluff
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The Indian Center in Lincoln and Scottsbluff
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Lakota Lutheran Center in Scottsbluff
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Panhandle Partnership (offices are in a variety of places with headquarters
in Kimball)
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Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff
Clinics will be held later this year at Box Butte General Hospital in Alliance,
WCHR in Chadron, and Gordon Memorial Hospital in Gordon, Dr. Gross said.
Dates have not yet been determined.
The Tuesday grand opening will offer free finger-stick blood tests which
will provide immediate results. Dr. Gross and Marie Kreman, Ed.D., project
director and associate professor of the UNMC College of Nursing, will speak
on behalf of the college. The clinic also will be blessed by the Rev. Paul
Colling of the Guadalupe Center and the Rev. Will Voss of the Lakota Lutheran
Center. Healthy snacks will be served.
The clinic will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and from 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays. The staff will provide basic diabetes assessments
and tests for glucose control, as well as education.
Charges will be based on a sliding scale according to the ability to
pay. “No one will be turned away,” Dr. Gross said.
Dr. Kreman will operate the clinic on a day-to-day basis. Medical
care will be provided by Karen Hessler, a nurse practitioner, and Phyllis
Smith, a nurse and certified diabetes educator.
Outreach workers for the clinic are Loveletta Iron Horse of the Native
American community and Lucy Cullers of the Hispanic community. They will
travel to Gering, Scottsbluff, Chadron and Gordon to help recruit clients,
conduct testing at health fairs, do blood tests at patients’ homes, and
provide family counseling.
Potential medical providers also will be educated through this special
program, Dr. Gross said.
“The clinic will provide a perfect setting for our students to learn
how to provide culturally competent care, she said. “Im so thrilled I
cant tell you. It’s a win-win situation for both the students and their
patients.”
In addition to nursing students, pharmacy, dental and physician assistant
students going through rotations in the Panhandle area will also work at
the clinic.
Dr. Gross pointed out that the clinics are not intended to provide competition
for primary health care providers. “We are helping to establish a public
health infrastructure for the State of Nebraska, and this is our contribution
in the Panhandle.
The UNMC College of Nursing is the largest nursing school in the state
with a total of more than 700 students at its Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney and
Scottsbluff campuses. It is the only nursing school in the state to offer
undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees.