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Harold M. Maurer, M.D. |
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John Gollan, M.D., Ph.D. |
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John Sparks, M.D. |
The new physician practice — to be incorporated as the Nebraska Pediatric Practice, Inc. — will allow all the pediatric specialist physicians at UNMC and Children’s Hospital to come together as a practice group.
“I believe the physician practice is unique among academic medical centers, because it focuses specifically on the needs of children,” said UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D. “The total package — research, education and patient care — is directed at the provision of outstanding health care to the children of Nebraska. This is a legacy for the state that will bring benefits for years to come.”
John Gollan, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the UNMC College of Medicine, said the creation of the physician practice is a key step in moving the affiliation forward. He said the goal is to have the physician practice in operation by the end of the year.
“We’ve been working for more than three years to try to bring this affiliation to fruition,” he said. “It has involved an enormous number of people, all pulling together, and it has been widely embraced by the community. When we get it completed, I think it will be the biggest, most exciting thing that has ever happened for pediatric health in Nebraska. It will place us among an elite group of national children’s hospitals in the country.”
“We are taking a significant step in our service to children throughout the region. This affiliation and shared dedication will provide them access to some of the top specialists in the country. In furthering our commitment to education and research, we also are helping to pave the way for excellence in pediatric health care well into the future,” said Gary Perkins, FACHE, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital.
UNMC College of Medicine and Children’s Hospital each have about 60 pediatricians, Dr. Gollan said. The creation of the physician practice will make specialty physicians at Children’s part of the UNMC faculty.
“The blueprint is there,” he said. “When you combine the resources of the leading children’s hospital in the community with the resources of an academic medical center, it creates an unprecedented opportunity to elevate pediatric care to a completely different level.”
To move the partnership forward, several existing documents needed to be amended, said Rodney Markin, M.D., Ph.D., senior associate dean for clinical affairs at the UNMC College of Medicine and president and CEO of UNMC Physicians. These documents included the medical service plan for the UNMC College of Medicine and the UNMC Physicians’ bylaws.
UNMC Physicians is the physician practice entity for the UNMC College of Medicine. “The current medical service plan was amended in 1994 and the UNMC Physicians’ bylaws were last amended in 1999,” Dr. Markin said.
“Having been involved in the discussions over the last three years, it was obvious that the affiliation agreement is essential to provide the best possible care to children,” Dr. Markin said.
The bylaws of the pediatric physician practice will call for a nine-member governing board, consisting of three members from UNMC; three members from Children’s Hospital; and three faculty physicians from the physician practice..
The partnership was originally announced last September. In January, John Sparks, M.D., a Texas neonatologist with nearly 30 years of experience in academic medicine, was named chairman of the UNMC Department of Pediatrics. As pediatrics chairman, Dr. Sparks is responsible for leading the effort to implement the institutional affiliation agreement for UNMC.
Dr. Sparks worked the past 16 years at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston and served as chairman of pediatrics for 10 of those years. Under Dr. Sparks’ leadership, departmental annual research funding soared from $3.5 million to $25 million.
Dr. Sparks will work closely with David Christensen, M.D., senior vice president for medical affairs and chief medical officer at Children’s Hospital, in advancing clinical and basic science research opportunities for the prevention and treatment of childhood conditions and diseases. Dr. Christensen joined Children’s in 2007 after serving as medical director for Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital and Health Center in Tacoma, Wash.
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“The pieces are all coming together,” Dr. Gollan said. “The addition of these three individuals has been critical in moving the partnership forward. We couldn’t be more pleased to have them on board.”
Construction is now underway for a Specialty Pediatric Center at the southeast corner of 84th Street and West Dodge Road. The building will connect to the Suzanne and Walter Scott Pavilion on four of its five floors, providing families with easy navigation and convenient access to physician and outpatient services. The $55 million facility will be completed in 2010.
“This facility represents our continued commitment to caring for children now and into the future,” Perkins said. “We anticipate that in just the next several years, this center will be meeting the health care needs of nearly 60,000 children annually.”
The affiliation builds on what has been a long-standing relationship between Children’s and UNMC that began in 1948. Dr. C.W.M. Poynter, then dean of the UNMC College of Medicine, along with Omaha World-Herald publisher Henry Doorly founded the original Children’s Memorial Hospital.
Also on Friday, the regents approved:
- The creation of two doctoral degree programs in the UNMC College of Public Health — a health services research, administration and policy program and a health promotion and disease prevention research program;
- The creation of a Pre-Medical Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Program (PMPBCP) that will assist the UNMC College of Medicine in meeting its strategic goal of a diverse student body and ultimately produce physicians who will practice in underserved rural and urban areas;
- A tuition increase for the College of Pharmacy needed to address educational needs and new nationwide accreditation requirements by the Accreditation Council for Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE); and
- The naming of several building floors and rooms in the new Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education in recognition of donors who helped make the building a reality.