News briefs

Nebraska Medicine to hold open house for its Fontenelle Clinic in north Omaha  
An open house will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 6 for the newest Nebraska Medicine clinic — the Fontenelle Clinic located at 5005 Ames Ave. The open house will be for colleagues working at UNMC/Nebraska Medicine.
 
"Our new location, along busy Ames Avenue and within sight of our current building, will also raise our profile," said Daniel Jeffrey, M.D., medical director of the clinic. "The current clinic location is difficult to view from the road and many patients that would benefit from our services may not even know there is a Nebraska Medicine location near their home.
 
"As a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) primary care clinic, we strive to deliver comprehensive primary care in a location that is accessible for our patients."
 
The open house will include a ribbon cutting ceremony and remarks from Nebraska Medicine’s leadership team starting at 5:30 p.m. Light refreshments, hors d’oeuvres and clinic tours will follow at 5:45 p.m. An open house for the public will be held on Dec. 8.
 
Dr. Jeffrey said the increased numbers of exam rooms at the new building will give clinic staff the capacity to serve more patients with providers in internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics.
 
"Importantly, we will be able to give dedicated space to our PCMH disciplines including behavioral health, pharmacy, social work, legal aid and nutrition," Dr. Jeffrey said. "These services are vital to taking care of the whole patient and offering them in our clinic makes them much more accessible."
 
To coincide with the colleague open house on Dec. 6 and the community open house two days later, the clinic is participating in Project Christmas Joy. Project Christmas Joy is a holiday gift and essentials drive for the young men and women at Omaha Home for Boys.
 
For a list of items that can be donated to the gift drive, click here. Items can be dropped off at the Fontenelle Clinic until Dec. 11 or at other places in the community.
 
Surgery chair, Dr. David W. Mercer, named to Nebraska Medicine board of directors 
David W. Mercer, M.D., chair of UNMC Department of Surgery, was recently named to the Nebraska Medicine Board of Directors along with Eric Keen, CEO of HDR, Inc.
 
Dr. Goldsweig elected governor of Nebraska Chapter of American College of Cardiology 
Andrew Goldsweig, M.D., an interventional cardiologist for Nebraska Medicine and an assistant professor, internal medicine-cardiovascular medicine, for UNMC, has been elected governor of the Nebraska Chapter of the American College of Cardiology (ACC). His term will run from 2020 to 2023.
 
In this role, he will serve as the Nebraska Chapter president and represent the state at the national level on the ACC Board of Governors.
 
As chapter governor-elect, Dr. Goldsweig has already convened two Nebraska ACC workgroups – an advocacy workgroup and an education workgroup, the latter chaired by William Schleifer, MD, an electrophysiologist at Nebraska Medicine and assistant professor at UNMC.
 
The advocacy workgroup has begun planning non-partisan lobbying efforts on behalf of the cardiology community and its patients. The education workgroup has begun planning speakers for the 2019 Nebraska ACC annual dinner.
 
"Having recently chaired the 2018 Nebraska ACC annual dinner featuring Dr. John Carroll from the University of Colorado, I hope to continue to bring nationally renowned cardiologists to the Cornhusker state," Dr. Goldsweig said. "My election as governor of the Nebraska chapter of the ACC also will help UNMC/Nebraska Medicine further its mission of national leadership in cardiovascular medicine."
 
In addition to his work with the ACC, Dr. Goldsweig is active in the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), the professional society for interventional cardiology, where he serves nationally on the Structural Heart Disease Council.
 
Dr. Goldsweig joined UNMC/Nebraska Medicine in 2017. Prior to this, he completed his bachelor’s degree at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, medical school at New York University in New York City, residency and two fellowships at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., and an advanced fellowship in structural heart disease at Brown University in Providence, R.I.
 
Dr. Goldsweig’s clinical practice focuses on minimally-invasive cardiac procedures including left atrial appendage occlusion, patent foramen ovale closure, transcatheter aortic valve replacement and transcatheter mitral valve repair. He also conducts structural heart disease research and serves as the site principal investigator for four major national device trials.
 
"We are excited that Dr. Goldsweig has been named the ACC Nebraska chapter president," said Dan Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., acting triad-physician leader of the Heart and Vascular Network for Nebraska Medicine and associate professor and acting chief of cardiovascular medicine for UNMC. 
 
"Although just elected, Dr. Goldsweig has already been instrumental in revitalizing the Nebraska Chapter. His efforts will no doubt have a great impact locally and will further elevate UNMC/Nebraska Medicine as a local and national leader in cardiovascular medicine."
 
Dr. Schlitzkus tabbed for key post by Young Fellows Association  
Lisa Schlitzkus, M.D., assistant professor, surgery-general surgery, has been selected by the Young Fellows Association (YFA) to serve as the liaison representative to the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Committee on Trauma.  
 
Dr. Schlitzkus will serve a three-year term ending in October 2021. As liaison representative, her duties will include:  Active attendance and participation in all committee conference calls and in-person meetings; completion of an annual report summarizing the work of the committee and its  contributions for publication in the YFA e-newsletter; and attendance at YFA programming at the ACS annual Clinical Congress.  
 
The YFA represents the interests of surgeons under the age of 45 and provides a forum for these individuals to help shape the future of the ACS and its various surgery specialties.  
 
Mentoring workshop draws University of Nebraska, IDeA-CTR partner institutions  
The Great Plains IDeA-CTR and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research sponsored a two-day mentoring training workshop presented by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER).
 
Faculty from UNMC and Great Plains IDeA-CTR partner institutions were invited to attend. Individuals from Boys Town National Research Hospital, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Nebraska at Kearney, the University of South Dakota and North Dakota State University completed the training. The purpose of the workshop was to help build mentoring infrastructure across the consortium.  
 
CIMER, an extension of the University of Wisconsin, provides resources for institutions to improve research mentoring relationships. These workshops do not teach attendees mentoring best practices, but instead aim to increase attendees' knowledge of the "Entering Mentoring and Entering Research" curricula and help them gain confidence in their facilitation skills to become facilitators on their campus.  
 
CIMER faculty and staff investigate approaches for improving research mentoring relationships for organizations and institutions. They develop, implement and evaluate mentor and mentee training using theoretically-grounded, evidence-based, and culturally-responsive training interventions and investigations.  
 
Master facilitators Christine Sorkness and Kelly Diggs-Andrews led the UNMC training, which offered hands-on, team-building experiences and small group activities.  
 
Devney to serve on TAGME committee  
Kellie Devney, residency program coordinator in the UNMC Department of Neurosurgery, will serve as vice chair of the Applications Committee for the Training Administrators of Graduate Medical Education (TAGME). In 2020, she will chair the committee, which reviews applications for those applying for certification. Once approved, applicants move on to the assessment part of the certification process. Devney is TAGME-certified and has been with UNMC for more than 20 years. She has been involved with TAGME since 2007.