Reba Benschoter, PhD, emeritus professor, a national pioneer in the development of telemedicine and distance learning, died Jan. 1. She was 92. Services are set for Jan. 15 and 16.
“Dr. Reba Benschoter was a trailblazer,” said UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD. “She was among those who helped make our 500-mile campus more than an ideal, but a reality. Today, we are proud to continue her legacy of bringing UNMC and its resources to people all across Nebraska and beyond.”
Dr. Benschoter was director of a National Institute of Mental Health grant that led to what is believed to be the nation’s first two-way closed-circuit telemedicine system, in 1964. In 1966, she gave a national presentation before the New York Academy of Sciences on the use of “interactive television” for teaching of remote students and for care of mental-health patients at Norfolk State Hospital. It was a novel method, with groundbreaking outcomes.
Services
Visitation, Sunday, Jan. 15, 5-7 p.m., Rosary at 7 p.m., Heafey Hoffman Dworak Cutler West Chapel, 7805 West Center Road in Omaha. Funeral service, Monday, Jan. 16, 10 a.m., Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 2110 S. 32nd Ave.
Dr. Benschoter would later recall that “Dec. 2, 1964, marked the true beginning of telemedicine in the U.S.”
Watch an oral history interview of Dr. Benschoter on the beginning of telemedicine at UNMC.
Cecil Wittson, MD, namesake of Wittson Hall, was a driver and champion of what would later be called telemedicine and distance learning at UNMC and charged Dr. Benschoter with leading the task.
Dr. Benschoter’s oldest daughter, Brooke Benschoter, said the innovation and cooperation during the dawn of telemedicine between her mother, at UNMC, and father, Leon “Benny” Benschoter, who created the biomedical communications unit at the Creighton University School of Medicine, helped make Omaha a national leader in the technology.
“They believed a high tide raised all boats and lifted each other’s institutions up for the benefit of all,” she said. “The cooperation Benny and Reba brought to our dinner table led to their being recognized jointly by HeSCA with the Golden Raster Award in 1981 for achievements that also put Omaha at the forefront of health sciences communications.”
“Reba is truly an historic figure at UNMC,” said Tom O’Connor, retired longtime UNMC public relations professional. “She was one of the first women at the med center to take on a key leadership role, and she made the most of it.”
She was a trailblazer in this aspect as well.
“Reba had an unbelievable foresight of knowing ‘when to hold ‘em, knowing when to fold ‘em,’ probably long before Kenny Rogers did,” said Roxanna Jokela, retired longtime UNMC employee, who worked closely with Dr. Benschoter as director of the Rural Health Education Network (RHEN). “She possessed a sterness, along with a big heart that she would share with colleagues.”
“Many of us on campus stand on her shoulders today,” said Bob Bartee, senior advisor to the chancellor who retired as vice chancellor for external relations at UNMC.
Dr. Benschoter led the then-School of Allied Health Professions from 1985-95 as its associate dean within the UNMC College of Medicine.
“She laid the foundation for what the College of Allied Health Professions is today,” said Kyle Meyer, PhD, the college’s founding dean.
It is a sentiment echoed by many throughout the med center.
Dr. Benschoter was especially proud that an allied health workforce study conducted in 1987, while she was associate dean, led to the development of UNMC rural outreach programs. “She was a visionary who crisscrossed the state forging the relationships which resulted in RHEN and RHOP in the ’90s,” said Mary Haven, emeritus associate dean, who succeeded Dr. Benschoter.
But her national legacy is in the use of technology to reach across distances to deliver both education and clinical care. Dr. Benschoter came to UNMC in 1957 as an audiovisual specialist in the college of medicine’s Nebraska Psychiatric Institute (NPI). She later was named director of NPI’s communications division.
She led the landmark project believed to have pioneered telemedicine in the United States. (Dr. Benschoter was always sure to commend Dr. Wittson and engineer Van Johnson.)
In 1970, the university created Biomedical Communications at UNMC, with Dr. Benschoter as its director. She continued to lead the growth of distance learning and telehealth at UNMC through the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, in partnership with Nebraska Educational Television, the Veterans Administration and others.
In 2021, Dr. Benschoter established the Dean Reba A. Benschoter Scholarship Fund for allied health students. Her name also lives on in the UNMC Department of Psychiatry’s Reba Benschoter Inspirational Leadership Award.
What an amazing career! Thank you Reba for investing your talents to benefit so many people.
It was my privilege to know and work with Reba ,particularly from 1974-1978 when I was involved in development of an auto instructional project that included many video tapes.She was a dedicated and visionary leader and always supportive of young faculty such as myself as we progressed up the UNMC career ladder.
She was an amazing trailblazer! We named a leadership award a few years ago in her honor in the psychiatry department due to her wonderful accomplishments!
Dr Benschoter’s light shone brightly amongst our campus halls, as well as the surrounding neighborhood. It was truly a blessing seeing her seven days a week, be it Midtown-Hanscom Park or OLL. She brought a real sense of community to the campus.
Rest well in Peace, Dr Benschoter.
Reba was extremely helpful when I created a course in graduate Neurobiology using satellite technology to include students from Lincoln. Her assistance was essential.
I worked with Reba in the late 70s in Allied Health education! She was a force to be reckoned with and taught me so much! A mentor for all. RIP