Andrew Maresch, MD, a faculty member in the UNMC Department of Anesthesiology, was recently appointed director of anesthesiology at Village Pointe.
Dr. Maresch is excited to serve the community in this new role, only the latest in a long association with UNMC. In addition to being a UNMC medical school graduate, Dr. Maresch also completed an internship and residency here before pursuing a cardiac anesthesiology fellowship.
Dr. Maresch said he was first drawn to cardiac anesthesiology because of his interest in physiology and anatomy.
“Cardiac anesthesiology hits the maximal point, combining my favorite aspects of anatomy and anesthesiology,” Dr. Maresch said. “Working with pulmonary physiology, you’re changing many human dynamics and parameters within the patient’s body, rerouting blood flows, bypassing the heart or stopping the heart. So, it appealed to me and the cases were also quite interesting.”
Dr. Maresch has been part of the anesthesiology faculty for approximately five years, first as part of the cardiac anesthesiology team and then joining the acute pain service team in March 2022. He further developed his leadership skills working at the Fritch Surgery Center at Lauritzen Outpatient Center, helping to manage the facility’s day-to-day operations.
“I really enjoyed working over at Fritch, and so when this role came up, I thought it was a great opportunity because I enjoy the outpatient setting,” Dr. Maresch said. “It’s just a different environment overall.”
In addition to managing Village Pointe Health Center’s overall day-to-day operations, Dr. Maresch will create new policies and fine-tune existing ones, primarily focused on anesthesiology services.
“We’ve recently added a fourth room and are consistently filling that time,” Dr. Maresch said. “Village Pointe is growing and requires more specific anesthetic services such as regional, nerve blocks and other services for orthopedics, which was one of the reasons I was interested in the position.”
Dr. Maresch said the center’s staff also attracted him to the position. The team currently includes one anesthesiologist and surgical nurses. Dr. Maresch aims to increase staffing as services expand, with the possibility of rotations for residents.
“It’s a great place to work, and the people there really enjoy it. It’s a great group of people,” Dr. Maresch said. “I enjoyed the group of people and friendships at Fritch, and I look forward to meeting everybody and working with all the great people at Village Pointe.”
In addition to improving service lines and creating growth, Dr. Maresch plans to focus on increasing and maintaining efficiency and providing professional development to create a well-run program that flourishes.
“As the regional services expand, we’re going to be starting some programs to train and provide initial and maintenance training within our regional program,” Dr. Maresch said. “We have started building a one-day training course on blocks and other frequently performed services so everyone can get comfortable doing those types of procedures.”
Having grown up in Omaha, Dr. Maresch and his wife agree that it is a great place to raise their two boys, and they take full advantage of all the fun family activities the area has to offer.
“There are lots of family-friendly things to do. We love anything outdoors, going to the park, going for walks and hikes together,” Dr. Maresch said. “We also enjoy visiting the zoo, the Children’s Museum, and all the wonderful seasonal attractions.”
Dr. Maresch and his wife are avid trail riders and participate in approximately four or five Spartan Races annually. Dr. Maresch said this is a great way to travel and explore different areas of the country as a family. The most memorable trips include Monterey, California, and Seattle, Washington.
“My wife and I do Spartan Races every year. She does it competitively, and I do it just for fun,” Dr. Maresch said. “We spend a lot of time working towards those, and we’ve traveled to more states in the past two years than we have our whole lives.”
Their boys participate in the courses for children, and Dr. Maresch said he hopes they will continue to grow in the sport and either compete or join their parents in the adult group.
Medical Director of Ambulatory AnesthesiologyAllyson Hascall, MD, congratulated Dr. Maresch on his new role.
“Dr. Maresch’s strong leadership abilities and regional anesthesia background will make him an asset to the Village Pointe team as we expand and grow our services,” Dr. Hascall said.