University of Nebraska Regent Jim Scheer of Norfolk visited UNMC on April 8 for a tour that included a special presentation on UNMC’s High School Alliance and the Rural Health Opportunities Program.
UNMC Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD, met with Scheer and guided him on the tour.
At the Aita Balcony over the Wigton Heritage Center, Scheer and Dr. Davies listened to a roundtable discussion with seven UNMC students and alums who went through either the High School Alliance or RHOP programs.
The alums were joined by: Heidi Kaschke, program director for the High School Alliance; Jaynie Bird, certified high school teacher with UNMC for the High School Alliance; Kelli Schneegass, rural health specialist for UNMC Rural Health Initiatives; and Kyle Meyer, PhD, interim assistant vice chancellor for health care workforce education and relations and dean of the UNMC College of Allied Health Professions.
The discussion offered Scheer a primer on both programs and the routes they offer into health science education and health care practice.
The High School Alliance gives high school students in the Omaha metro area an opportunity to study a health science curriculum at UNMC for high school credit.
“Our classes are designed to introduce our students to everything in health care,” Kaschke said.
Among the roundtable participants was High School Alliance alum Madison Wolfe, MD, who earned her medical degree from the UNMC College of Medicine and now is a pediatrics resident at the med center.
Dr. Wolfe said the alliance courses exposed her to numerous different health care professions, not only in medicine but also physician assistants and physical therapists, for instance. Now as she practices medicine, Dr. Wolfe said, she appreciates their important roles in the health care workforce.
Discussing the Rural Health Opportunities Program, Triniti Gembica said she attended Wayne State College for her undergraduate studies and now studies at the UNMC College of Medicine.
RHOP and the Kearney Health Opportunities Program both offer students guaranteed admission to UNMC following their undergraduate program at participating institutions in Nebraska. After graduating from UNMC, the participants commit to returning to rural Nebraska to practice their health science profession.
Gembica said the introduction she received to science through her undergraduate studies prepared her well for the curriculum at UNMC.
She called her RHOP instructors fantastic. “They prepared us so well,” she said.
Dr. Davies commended all the students, calling them truly amazing and saying they exemplify why UNMC is such an incredible organization.
“We’re really fortunate to have all of you,” he said.
Scheer said, “To me, the future is awfully bright for the university and for the state. The potential is unlimited. This facility is attracting not only local and regional talent, but worldwide talent.”
As part of his visit, Scheer also toured the UNMC Global Center for Health Security and discussed some of UNMC’s federal partnerships, including C-STARS Omaha.
