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UNMC chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., left, visits with Mark Johannsen, medical director of radiology at Fremont Area Medical Center; Associate Dean Mary Haven of the School of Allied Health Professions; Rubens Pamies, M.D., vice chancellor for academic affairs at UNMC; Dave Hanen, FAMC vice president and chief financial officer; Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc., dean of the UNMC College of Nursing; and Gerald “Jay” Moore, M.D., associate dean of the college of medicine, during a tour of the Fremont hospital. Photo courtesy of Dean Jacobs, Fremont Tribune. |
For the second consecutive spring, UNMC’s leadership team journeyed across Nebraska making stops in four communities — Fremont, Columbus, Grand Island and Kearney.
This year’s trip took place on May 24 and 25 and included a dozen UNMC administrators. The UNMC leadership team was headed by Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., and included: Rubens Pamies, M.D., vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean for graduate studies; deans of three UNMC colleges – John Reinhardt, D.D.S, College of Dentistry, Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc., College of Nursing and Clarence Ueda, Ph.D., Pharm.D., College of Pharmacy; Gerald Moore, M.D., associate dean, College of Medicine; and Mary Haven, associate dean, School of Allied Health Professions.
“There’s nothing better than going on the road and visiting with the people of Nebraska,” Dr. Maurer said. “UNMC has a 500-mile campus. We serve the entire state. It is tremendously important that we get out of the office and find out what people are thinking around the state. Even more important, it’s a great opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to the many people who support UNMC through preceptorships and in other ways.”
At each stop, the routine was the same – visit the community hospital, make a brief presentation to community leaders at a breakfast or lunch, and conduct media interviews.
At each presentation, Dr. Maurer would make opening and closing remarks, then in between, each of the leadership team members would deliver brief two-minute reports on their respective units. A key element of Dr. Maurer’s speech dealt with UNMC’s ongoing involvement in trying to implement an electronic medical record system involving the major hospitals in the state.
In each community, the leadership team provided statistics of local interest such as the number of area students presently enrolled or recently graduated from their program. Questions and feedback from the audience were always sought at the end of the presentation.
Media coverage was extensive with a total of 11 media outlets conducting interviews over the two-day period. Some media interviewed multiple UNMC people, and each member of the leadership team was interviewed at least twice during the trip. All four daily newspapers in the cities hosting the UNMC leadership team carried major articles on the visit.
“These trips to Greater Nebraska are truly energizing,” said Sandy Goetzinger-Comer, director of public affairs and the person responsible for organizing this year’s trip. “The feedback we receive is worth its weight in gold. People are genuinely excited to hear what is happening at UNMC. It is very obvious that the medical center is held in high esteem around the state.”
A perfect example of how UNMC is appreciated in Greater Nebraska took place at a breakfast hosted by the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce at Home Federal Bank in Grand Island.
In the feedback session, Lynn Black, Ph.D., president of the Grand Island campus of Central Community College, stood up and publicly thanked the UNMC School of Allied Health Professions for its partnership with Central Community College for developing radiographers.
Under the program, students at Central Community College can apply for UNMC’s radiology science technology program after they accumulate the required 50 pre-requisite credit hours. Four CCC students are accepted each year. Students accepted into the program take all their course work via UNMC’s distance learning program, and they do their clinical rotations at St. Francis Medical Center in Grand Island.
“The idea is to ‘grow our own’ radiological technologists,” said Deborah Brennan, Ph.D., dean of health occupations for Central Community College. “We want to get students from Central Nebraska into the program, so hopefully they’ll be more likely to stay in Central Nebraska after they graduate.
“It has been just a delightful relationship. Karen Nichols is our liaison at UNMC, and she has been wonderful. She has been willing to rearrange class schedules to meet the needs of our students, and she has worked very well with the people at St. Francis. It is a win-win situation all the way around. It’s great that the students can get this training without ever leaving Central Nebraska. We couldn’t do it without UNMC and St. Francis.”
Another example of positive feedback took place at the presentation to the Golden Kiwanis in Kearney. Dr. Reinhardt noted that the entering grade point average of students in the UNMC College of Dentistry was the highest among the 55 dental schools in the country in seven of the past 11 years. In the other four years, the College of Dentistry rated second behind Harvard University. Upon hearing this impressive statistic, the crowd interrupted Dr. Reinhardt’s presentation with applause.
One thing that always seemed to generate questions from the audience stemmed from the presentation delivered by Dr. Buehler on the Munroe-Meyer Institute. In each presentation, Dr. Buehler spent a major portion of his time talking about the increasing number of children being seen with autism.
Dr. Buehler noted that presently Nebraska ranks 49th among all 50 states in autism services. Autism is becoming more commonly diagnosed, he said, with about one in every 160 children falling in the autism disorder spectrum. These children incur an average of about $60,000 per year in medical expenses.
To meet the need for better autism services in Nebraska, Dr. Buehler said UNMC is beefing up its autism program and has recruited two autism experts from Johns Hopkins University who will join UNMC later this year.
Last year’s leadership road trip included stops in North Platte, Scottsbluff, Holdrege and Hastings. Dr. Maurer said the leadership road trips definitely will continue in the future. “There is no replacement for face-to-face communication,” he said. “I think the entire leadership team recognizes the tremendous value of these trips.”
What others are saying:
This was really a quality program..something that we don’t hear on a daily basis. From feedback I received, everyone was very positive about it. It’s nice having a little variety from our regular community speakers and programs. It was very fascinating.we were hearing about things that have an effect on our daily lives. I like how they do it with the concise two-minute reports from each presenter. That keeps it interesting and nobody gets too long-winded. Rex Minert – vice president, BankFirst, Columbus
Fremont truly appreciated the opportunity to interact with the UNMC leadership team, both as a community hospital committed to providing enhanced medical care to its service area and as a city that recognizes the critical role that UNMC plays in the welfare of the entire state. We value our relationship with UNMC and such community visits provide an excellent opportunity to discuss issues with UNMC and to problem-solve
various alternatives. Michael Leibert, president and CEO, Fremont Area Medical Center
We really enjoyed the visits and appreciate the time spent by so many at UNMC to make a trip to Columbus. It certainly demonstrates the commitment you have to extending your outreach and services into rural Nebraska. It was great for us to put names with faces for so many that we work with and who benefit our work. Many thanks to all who took their valuable time to attend and also for those who picked things up in their absence. Gary Pulsipher, administrator, Columbus Community Hospital
The Grand Island Chamber was pleased to host Chancellor Maurer and his leadership team and to learn about UNMC’s objectives for its programs and the state of Nebraska. Equally refreshing was the opportunity to remind ourselves of the impact UNMC has in central Nebraska — from initiatives like the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) to the very successful Medical Pathways Program at Grand Island Senior High. Chancellor Maurer and his staff are on the cutting edge of medicine and we’re proud of the physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and other health care providers that have an affiliation with UNMC. Cindy Johnson, president, Grand Island Chamber of Commerce
We enjoyed our visit with the UNMC leadership team. Visits like these, where the leaders in our state’s healthcare delivery can meet face to face and share best practices, are valuable opportunities for growth on both sides of the table. John Allen, president and CEO, Good Samaritan Health Systems, Kearney
Opportunities to catch-up on all that has occurred in Grand Island with UNMC graduates are always enjoyable. The Saint Francis Medical Center leadership team was able to address many of the issues of common concern with the UNMC leadership in hopes that by working together, as we have in the past, the world of healthcare in Nebraska will become more accessible to those most in need. We appreciate the time and effort it took to have everyone in one place in order to discuss these concerns.
Mike Gloor, president and CEO, St. Francis Medical Center, Grand Island