UNMC campus accomplishments for 2006-2007
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Jay Noren, M.D., left, speaks with the media earlier this year about the College of Public Health, of which Dr. Noren is the founding dean. UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., looks on. The COPH has recruited nine new faculty in the college’s first 15 months of existence.
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Last year, through the efforts of faculty and staff, UNMC made tremendous progress toward its goal of becoming a world-class academic health science center. The accomplishments listed on the following pages were selected from a long list of achievements submitted by each unit.
“I invite you all to look back at what we’ve accomplished this year and realize that your efforts were vital in our achievements,” said Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D. “I am proud to be at UNMC and the work you do is a big reason for that pride.”
Education
The incoming (2006) dental class had an overall predental grade point average of 3.78, the highest of the 56 dental schools in the United States. This marks the 10th time in the past 14 years that the UNMC College of Dentistry (COD) had the highest incoming GPA in the U.S.
The dental class of 2009 had a 100 percent passing rate on the National Dental Board Examination, Part 1 and ranked No. 4 among the 56 dental schools in the United States.
The Dental Hygiene Class of 2006 was ranked No. 1 in the nation out of 256 dental hygiene programs on the Dental Hygiene National Board Examination.
The College of Medicine (COM) initiated rotations in China and Australia and modified rotations in the Caribbean and South Africa.
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UNMC’s James Turpen, Ph.D., right, with Joe Britton, legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, and Martha Petkovich, legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel. Dr. Turpen addressed Britton, Petkovich and other senate staffers about the National Center for Research Resources IDeA program during a panel discussion in Washington earlier this year.
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COM developed special “medical” tracts programs and a combined M.D./MPH program.
In September 2006, the Board of Regents approved the creation of the department of emergency medicine.
The Master’s of Science in Nursing (MSN) program was ranked 32nd of 396 by U.S.News & World Report, placing it in the top 8 percent of MSN programs in the country.
Addressing the nursing faculty shortage, 16 students in the MSN program completed teaching certificates in nursing education.
UNMC was invited to join the Health Professions Education Collaborative, a national consortium of 18 academic health sciences centers committed to implementing the guidelines of the Institute of Medicine on preparing health professionals for the 21st century.
Information Technology Services (ITS) created an Online Continuing Medical Education system allowing registrants to view materials, take tests and evaluations, and receive a credit certificate online.
ITS upgraded educational technology in the College of Nursing (CON), College of Pharmacy (COP), Wittson Hall, Durham Research Center, Eppley Institute and Eppley Science Hall Amphitheater.
The COP developed a comprehensive Outcomes Assessment Plan.
The COP created an experiential education advisory committee made up of preceptors from varied backgrounds and areas of practice.
The COP completely revised the preceptor education program.
The College of Public Health (COPH) submitted new Ph.D. programs in health promotion and disease prevention research, environmental health, and occupational health and toxicology for approval by the UNMC Graduate Council and the Board of Regents.
The COPH submitted a proposal for a Center for Environmental Health and Toxicology involving the COPH, University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) and University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL).
The COPH recruited nine new faculty members in the departments of health promotion, epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, and health services research.
The COPH jointly appointed faculty with COM, CON, UNL College of Engineering, UNO College of Arts and Sciences, UNO College of Education, and UNL School of Natural Resources.
The School of Allied Health Professions (SAHP) students achieved 100 percent first-time pass rates on national examinations for seven of the school’s 10 programs.
The SAHP Office of Distance Education, formed in March 2007, created a partnership with Columbus Community Hospital to deliver a distance education program in radiography and implemented two new distance continuing education programs for clinical perfusionists.
The Division of Physical Therapy Education was awarded the 2006 University-wide Departmental Teaching Award.
Five students entered the Eppley Institute’s Cancer Research Graduate Program. Currently there are 32 doctoral students in the program.
Four students earned their Ph.D. through the Cancer Research Training Program.
Munroe-Meyer Institute (MMI) developed an academic program in Applied Behavior Analysis in collaboration with UNO’s and/or UNL’s psychology departments.
MMI expanded the Interdisciplinary Education Program and modified the core curriculum to include public health topics relevant to disabilities.
Academic Affairs enrolled the largest number of graduate students ever in the fall of 2007: 647 (an 11 percent increase compared to the fall of 2006). Academic Affairs graduated 34 Ph.D. students, the largest number ever.
Eighty students participated in the second year of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Summer Medical and Dental Education Program.
Alumni Affairs initiated three new alumni-sponsored programs for COP students.
Government Relations presented an educational briefing in Washington, D.C., for Senate Congressional staff on the importance of the IDeA program.
Public Affairs coordinated the activities in honor of the COM’s 125th anniversary.
Public Affairs reported 5,577 media placements, an increase of 25 percent over 2005-06, including 993 national media placements.
Public Affairs reported 6.4 million visits to UNMC’s Web site, a 22.5 percent increase over 2005-06.
UNMC received a five-year grant totaling almost $17 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to build a statewide biomedical research infrastructure (BRIN) among undergraduate and graduate institutions. This is the largest grant ever received by UNMC.
The Board of Regents approved the 2006-2015 Facilities Development Plan. The rare book rooms in the McGoogan Library of Medicine were renovated. The Board of Regents approved further efforts toward establishing a nursing division in Norfolk.
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Cathleen Piazza, Ph.D., and her husband, Wayne Fisher, Ph.D., have helped develop research programs at UNMC’s Munroe-Meyer Institute for feeding disorders and autism.
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Research
The UNMC College of Dentistry ranked 21st in NIH funding for federal fiscal year 2006 (the second highest in the college’s history).
Total extramural research funding for the COD in fiscal year 2007 was $5,110,988, the highest level in the history of the college.
The COM and Eppley Cancer Institute successfully recruited an NIH-funded breast cancer research team.
The COM received a $2.6 million NIH grant for vascular research.
Members of the Pulmonary Section of Internal Medicine were awarded five grants totaling $3.8 million.
The number of funded research studies in the CON increased 12 percent in the past three years. The total amount of external research funding in the CON increased 4.6 percent over the past fiscal year.
The CON hosted the 31st Midwest Nursing Research Society’s annual research conference of 13 states, bringing 800 nurse researchers to Omaha.
Facilities Management & Planning (FM&P) completed design work for the new cGMP facility located at 42nd and Emile Streets.
FM&P completed the design and started construction to add chiller No. 8 and east loop distribution piping to the East Utility Plant to serve RCE II and future load.
Financial Compliance and Finance & Business Services (F&BS) developed cost sharing and effort reporting systems and training.
F&BS purchased several properties, including the land for the OPPD land swap, and other rental properties.
Sponsored Programs Administration deployed a Web-based submission system for many types of NIH grant proposals.
The COP increased its NIH funding and rank among U.S. colleges of pharmacy over the previous year.
The COP acquired earmark funding ($2 million) designated in 2007/2008 Department of Defense budget for treatment of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases with nanotechnology.
The COP hosted the Fourth International Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine Symposium in Omaha in October 2006.
The COP implemented a graduate student summer exchange program with Iowa State University’s Department of Engineering.
The SAHP appointed an assistant dean for research development to promote and sustain a culture of scholarship and research productivity.
Eight grants submitted by SAHP faculty were funded for $641,063. SAHP faculty participated as collaborators on five funded interdisciplinary grants. The UNMC Eppley Cancer Center’s 2006-07 grants totaled more than $55 million.
Eppley Institute faculty had more than $10.6 million in total extramural funding.
Eppley Institute successfully recruited a leading cancer researcher with four National Cancer Institute grants and more than $4.5 million in funding to be associate director of the Eppley Institute and associate director for Basic Research at the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center.
The Ambassador ofâHope Gala raised $1.6 million for research at the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center.
MMI received initial startup funding for a new Interdisciplinary Center of Program Evaluation and two new evaluation contracts.
MMI received NIH funding for specific language impairment with collaborators at the University of Kansas and Perth, Australia.
MMI faculty and Rural Behavioral Health Program staff established a team in “integrated pediatric behavioral health.”
MMI established research programs into the early identification, screening and surveillance of Asperger’s, autism and related developmental and genetic disorders.
MMI established a Feeding and Swallowing Disorders program, which has been integrated into The Nebraska Medical Center programs in transplantation.
The Office of Student Equity and Multicultural Affairs recruited six undergraduate students from underrepresented groups who participated in the Summer Minority Undergraduate Research Program on campus. The students worked in laboratories and were funded by NIH and Nebraska EPSCoR.
Use of McGoogan Library electronic resources continued at a high rate with 232,752 catalog searches; 287,534 database searches; 379,620 home page visits; and 559,168 page views. Overall, 172,000 persons entered the library.
Design for the UNMC Center for Clinical and Translational Research was completed and approved. Leadership positions within the center were filled, and the program will be submitted to the Board of Regents for approval.
UNMC achieved a new high in total research funding of more than $81 million in fiscal year 2006-07, despite a more than 21 percent decline in the availability of NIH grants over the past three years.
A strategically significant plan for taking the lung cancer screening research program to rural areas was developed.
Government Relations obtained $5.4 million in federal funding for research projects in fiscal year 2007 through the Congressional earmark process. This was an increase of 71 percent over fiscal year 2006, and 104 percent greater than the UNMC average for fiscal year 2002-06.
Public Affairs developed UNMC Discover, a new research publication.
UNMC broke ground for the Research Center of Excellence II on Aug. 11, 2006.
The Center of Human Molecular Genetics received Board of Regents approval to change its name to the Center for Molecular Genetics and Genomics.
UNMC held the 11th Annual Cardiovascular Research Symposium, which focused on childhood heart defects.
Six UNMC researchers received almost $6 million in VA grant funding.
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UNMC celebrated a ground breaking for the Weigel Williamson Center for Visual Rehabilitation in April. The center will be the region’s only not-for-profit comprehensive center for visual rehabilitation of adults and children.
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Campus/community partnerships for health
The COD continued the tradition of providing free dental care to low-income children by organizing and sponsoring Dental Day XI held at the college, and Dental Day XII held in the Panhandle.
The Department of Dental Hygiene continued its partnership with the Hope Medical Outreach Coalition to place sealants and provide fluoride treatments and dental health care information to second-, third-, and sixth-graders in six Omaha Public Schools.
COD faculty, staff and students were a huge presence at the second Nebraska Mission of Mercy in September 2006, which provided approximately $650,000 worth of free dental treatment for nearly 1,800 underserved Nebraskans.
COD worked cooperatively with the State Dental Associations of Wyoming and South Dakota to develop programs to assist those states in overcoming problems related to access to dental care.
The Board of Regents approved the UNMC/COM affiliation agreement with Children’s Hospital.
The CON’s six nurse-managed clinics across the state provided care for 14,000 patients, most of whom had no other source of care.
When Zion Lutheran School in Kearney lost its school nurse, the Kearney Division of the College of Nursing stepped in with pediatric student learning experiences, under the supervision of faculty, to meet the school’s needs.
Obstetrics faculty at the College’s West Nebraska Division in Scottsbluff provided the Hispanic Pregnant Teens program through Panhandle Community Services.
Facilities Management and Planning (FM&P) completed design work and started construction for the new $1.2 million Weigel Williamson Center for Visual Rehabilitation.
FM&P completed construction of the traffic-calming project with the City of Omaha for 42nd Street between Leavenworth and Dodge streets.
Finance & Business Services refined the Incident Command Center structure and job duties, conducted disaster drills and participated in the pandemic planning and continuity of operations plan development.
ITS provided voice, video and data infrastructure for new and renovated buildings including, UNMC Physicians relocation to Mutual of Omaha, and the Olson Center for Women’s Health.
The COP participated in the Clinical Education Partners with Creighton, UNMC and UNO, a coalition to provide comprehensive psychiatric services.
Faculty members from the SAHP provided diabetes education and prevention consultations to the Winnebago and Macy tribes in the form of patient training, nutritional counseling and data analysis.
Through collaboration with the American Society for Clinical Pathologists (ASCP), two SAHP faculty members from Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS) made five trips to Africa, (four to Tanzania and one to Lesotho), to provide educational training in the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Additionally, five CLS faculty are working with the ASCP to develop a curriculum for the five schools of clinical laboratory science in Tanzania.
Ninety percent of SAHP students participated in at least one community service activity including: SHARING, RESPECT and GOODLIFE Clinics, support for the Ronald McDonald House and a fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation.
Faculty and students from the Eppley Institute’s Cancer Research Graduate Program conducted scientific seminars at five regional universities and colleges to introduce undergraduate students to careers in biomedical research.
The UNMC Eppley Cancer Center, in collaboration with The Nebraska Medical Center and the UNMC College of Nursing Mobile Nursing Unit, conducted cancer screenings throughout the state.
MMI established two new Rural Behavioral Health Clinic sites in Lexington and Fremont.
MMI expanded programs with adults with disabilities by building a mailing list for marketing adult recreation services, launching new social activity clubs and participating in national conferences.
The Office of Student Equity and Multicultural Affairs, Youth Learning Center and Omaha South High School completed the second year of the First Generation Program for South High School ninth grade Latino students and their parents.
The Center for Continuing Education partnered with the Department of Psychiatry, Nebraska’s Area Health Education Centers, the Lincoln Veterans Hospital and the Nebraska National Guard to offer a daylong course, “After Our War” that focused on the mental health needs of service personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Academic Affairs sponsored 44 outreach CME programs throughout Nebraska and Western Iowa, with a total of 450 health professionals attending. Public Affairs held two Mini-Medical Schools attended in person by more than 2,200 Nebraskans with 14,435 Web site visits.
UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center had a $1.5 billion economic impart on Nebraska during the 2005-06 fiscal year.
The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools continued UNMC’s accredited status. UNMC’s next comprehensive visit will take place in 2017.
UNMC announced plans for a Web-based Personal Health Record program for all its students.
UNMC’s McGoogan Library offered two new health information systems, the Consumer Health Information Resource Service (CHIRS) and Go Local Nebraska Web site.
Government Relations implemented the “UNMC Delegates Program,” an electronic grassroots advocacy program, enrolled 300 delegates since August 2006, and held four speaker series events with the annual event attendance surpassing 110 people.
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Girls Inc. participant Gabrielle Jones learns to hold an infant at the UNMC Youth Learning Center. The center provides educational outreach programs to middle and high school students, especially underrepresented minorities and other disadvantaged young persons, throughout the greater Omaha metropolitan area.
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Cultural competence
In collaboration with Fort Lewis University, the COM is focusing on the recruitment of Native Americans.
The number of diverse students (racial/ethnic minority and male) in the CON reached a record high. The graduate programs saw a 42 percent increase in the number of minority students, and the undergraduate program saw a 20 percent increase in the number of male students.
Faculty and students participated in numerous international exchanges, traveling to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Jordan, China and Japan.
A group of Chinese nursing students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and a group of UNMC nursing students made exchanges, with each group earning academic credit at each other’s university.
Human Resources coordinated focus group discussions and a town hall meeting with the Safe to Relate facilitator/founder where employees shared views on campus cultural climate.
The COP created and filled a diversity specialist position (shared with COD).
First-year pharmacy students completed six hours of instruction on cultural competence.
Two members of the SAHP, in conjunction with the Community Partnership, taught Culturally and Linguistically Sound (CLAS) standards to the COM, SAHP faculty and staff, and students in the COD and COP.
A course developed by a SAHP faculty member, Communication and Cultural Competence, was completed by nine distance education students. Sections of the course also were completed by 36 Clinical Laboratory Science students and 53 Radiation Science Technology Education students.
The Eppley Cancer Center connected with minority and disparate populations through cancer screenings within the Hispanic and African American communities in South and North Omaha and with Nebraska’s rural population at the annual Cattlemen’s Ball.
The Eppley Cancer Center participated in the Health Disparities Omaha Metro Area Workgroup, a collaboration of Omaha’s cancer centers and other organizations dedicated to promoting cancer education, awareness and screening in minority groups.
MMI offered a lunch and learn in-service to expand staff and faculty knowledge of working with the refugee population.
Six individuals with disabilities and/or who were minorities participated at MMI as AmeriCorps members.
MMI participated in recreational programs for students with autism funded by the GWR Sunshine Foundation at three Omaha school districts.
The Youth Learning Center provided educational outreach programs to middle and high school students, especially underrepresented minorities and other disadvantaged young persons throughout the greater Omaha metropolitan area and their families.
Academic Affairs coordinated the first visit of UNMC faculty to Fort Lewis College, an affiliated minority serving institution, to develop a NU PATHS-like program for qualified Native American students.
The Library Diversity Team produced and distributed 2,300 copies of “Following the Clues — A Visit to the Doctor and the Library.”
Public Affairs created a diversity portal on the UNMC Web site.
Public Affairs co-sponsored the Radio Lobo Latino health and education program.
UNMC’s Student Alliance for Global Health and Creighton University Medical Center hosted the second annual Midwest Global Health Conference.
A 10-member student delegation attended the International Student Forum at the University of Tokyo.
In Mumbai, India, UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center co-sponsored their first nursing conference in India.
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James Linder, M.D., was named president of UNeMed in 2006. UNeMed, UNMC’s marketing and licensing arm, has adopted a new technology commercialization strategy. area.
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Biomedical technologies and economic development
UNMC implemented innovative student-centered learning technologies including on-demand streaming video, virtual reality simulation, individual skills modules, high and low fidelity human patient simulators, pod casting of course materials, wikis and blogs.
The CON deployed its new integrated database for tracking faculty, staff and student data.
ITS provided behind the scenes work on the database for electronic United Way, facilitated the training of departments on the new process to request leave through the ESS system, and created a statement of earnings and benefits for benefit eligible employees.
HR Strategic Staffing & Compensation implemented a new pre-employment skills testing system.
A SAHP faculty member was recognized for having created a newly licensed technology in 2007. Another SAHP faculty member was issued a patent, and three SAHP faculty members submitted new invention notifications in 2007.
MMI and Madonna Rehab Center in Lincoln developed and field tested the Accupoint augmentative communication system using laser beam technology.
MMI completed validation and made clinical testing available for gene testing for Noonan and Rett syndromes.
MMI developed sequencing tests for PTEN, UBE3A, micro-deletion and micro-duplication for MECP2.
McGoogan Library was selected as a beta test site for the New England Journal of Medicine’s second generation user interface.
The McGoogan Library worked with the Regional Medical Library and served as a test bed for Internet-2 personal interface grid technology.
Academic Affairs created and implemented a Radiation Safety Credentialing Program for physicians who use fluoroscopy.
UNeMed reorganized its leadership team and adopted a new technology commercialization strategy.
UNeMed initiated “Advance Nebraska,” a program to foster Nebraska business development using UNMC technologies.
Employee loyalty
Faculty and staff of the COD participated in all-day developmental retreats for skill-building and professional growth.
Two COD junior faculty graduated from the developmental Faculty Administrative Colloquium program.
Through generous gifts from friends of the CON, two new faculty awards were given this year to honor outstanding faculty.
The CON celebrated its 90th anniversary with a series of events that highlighted faculty and staff achievements over the college’s history.
Finance & Business Services (F&BS) developed, marketed and implemented the Walk Across Nebraska event to a positive response.
F&BS installed CCTV monitoring equipment to upgrade the Buffer Zone around three labs in Wittson Hall and added six new full-time equivalent security officer positions.
F&BS replaced Security Dispatch Center small screened monitors with 42-inch flat screen monitors and reconfigured the console to facilitate multi-tasking by dispatchers.
ITS automated e-mail invitations and confirmations for the annual Service Award Dinner and the annual Statement of Earnings and Benefits to employees. Increased COP staff attendance at training and development programs resulted in improved staff productivity.
The SAHP instituted an administrative network to promote faculty and staff input and communication and initiated an SAHP blog with the assistance of UNMC Public Affairs.
The Eppley Institute distributed its third annual newsletter (The Eppley Institute Focus) to update employees about Eppley Institute events and faculty, staff and student accomplishments. The Eppley Institute held its second annual all Eppley meeting to kick off the new academic year.
The McGoogan Library published three issues of “Library Happenings,” the library staff newsletter, highlighting the accomplishments and contributions of the staff.
The Center for Continuing Education and the Office of Post-Doctoral Education piloted a course on presentation skills for non-native speakers.
Alumni Affairs developed branding designs and messages for UNMC Alumni Affairs and respective alumni organizations.
Visits to UNMC Today increased 30 percent in the past year to almost 500,000.
Public Affairs developed the “Off the Clock” series highlighting the activities of UNMC employees outside of the office.
UNMC initiated the first Distinguished Scientist Award Program honoring its most productive researchers.