Munroe-Meyer Institute Director Karoly Mirnics, MD, PhD, spoke Monday with members of the public and the MMI and UNMC community at his annual “State of the Institute” address.
His message: The priority for MMI in 2022 is growth.
“We need to grow,” he said. “We need to expand existing services; we need to start new services.”
He is working with department directors on growth plans for 2022 and beyond that emphasize quality and patient experience. MMI will continue to review, revise and expand the plans in the future, he said.
Dr. Mirnics opened his address, which was held virtually, by thanking the “amazing” MMI community for its efforts during the “interesting times” presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As one of the biggest and most comprehensive IDD care institutions in the world, MMI “did well through this pandemic,” Dr. Mirnics said. “We grew services, we managed to have fiscal stability.”
He pointed to goals for the coming year, including improving the client and family experience at MMI, safely operating under the COVID-19 environment, mitigating any loss of revenue from COVID-19 while continuing to address the needs of MMI clients, overcoming recruitment challenges during pandemic and addressing the staff’s pandemic-fueled stress.
Reducing waitlists is a major priority, Dr. Mirnics said, outlining several ideas to address the problem.
“This is probably one of the hardest nuts to crack,” he said. “We have to find that magic solution here, because the needs are staggering.”
Watch Dr. Mirnics’ presentation, including all 2021 accomplishments and 2022 goals.
Dr. Mirnics pointed to some highlights in 2021, including:
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Munroe-Meyer Institute’s new building |
MMI’s new home at 6902 Pine St. “During COVID, we built an amazing facility, and we built it on time and on budget,” he said. “I am eternally grateful for this gift to the community, our patient population and their families. … This is the most unique building in the world.”
COVID-19 efforts. “I’m proud of how we handled this pandemic,” Dr. Mirnics said. MMI never shut down and pivoted quickly to telehealth services when possible. It teamed with the state and Douglas County to hold the first vaccination clinic in the country specifically for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. And throughout the pandemic to this point, there has been no documented case of COVID-19 transmission within the institute.
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MMI’s new ACTION clinic at 50th Street and Ames Avenue. |
Autism Care for Toddlers Clinic in Omaha North (ACTION). Supported by an angel donation, the 8,000-square-foot diagnostic and treatment facility for autism for children ages 2-5 opened near 50th Street and Ames Avenue in 2021.
Other new programs. Dr. Mirnics pointed to the outpatient center, care coordination, vision, dental and healthy living programming, virtual reality research and the emotional research laboratory and other efforts.
Leadership transition. Dr. Mirnics pointed to a number of MMI leaders “who built this institution” who retired in 2021. “All have been amazing assets to the enterprise.” He also praised “a new generation of leaders … that are already doing especially well.”
Diversity efforts. In 2021, MMI created a diversity and inclusion committee, established a dedicated diversity fund and created a diversity library and book club. Dr. Mirnics also highlighted MMI’s commitment to inclusive recruitment and hiring practices. “We want to make sure we are paying particular attention to diversifying our workforce.”
Community engagement. There were more than 185 community training activities with close to 10,000 attending events, Dr. Mirnics said. More than 150 tours were held to showcase the building and MMI established a strong social media following and is working to be bilingual in its communications.
Education. MMI’s ABA doctoral program was renewed through 2024; the master’s program had a 100% pass rate for students sitting for board certification in 2020 and 2021. MMI and the College of Allied Health Profession graduated the first class of genetic counselors, as well as two genetic medicine fellows (who were secured to MMI’s workforce). The Leadership Education in Neurodiversity grant, under the leadership of Cindy Ellis, was renewed.
Research efforts. Dr. Mirnics pointed to strengthening research efforts under new director of research Jenni Blackford, PhD, including two new NIH grants and the mentoring of junior scientists.