The new University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing Mobile Nurse Managed Clinic will make its maiden voyage May 25 to Norfolk, and Neligh on May 26.
The college has partnered with Charles Harper, Jr., M.D., internal medicine physician, and Jean Suehl, APRN, geriatric nurse practitioner at Faith Regional Physician Services in Norfolk, and Roger Rudloff, M.D., and Carol Anderson, R.N., geriatric nurse practitioner of Antelope Memorial Hospital Family Medicine in Neligh, to provide comprehensive geriatric assessments.
The college has partnered with Charles Harper, Jr., M.D., internal medicine physician, and Jean Suehl, APRN, geriatric nurse practitioner at Faith Regional Physician Services in Norfolk, and Roger Rudloff, M.D., and Carol Anderson, R.N., geriatric nurse practitioner of Antelope Memorial Hospital Family Medicine in Neligh, to provide comprehensive geriatric assessments.
Assessments are thorough evaluations that may include laboratory and other diagnostic screening tests to assess a patient’s physical, mental, social, and environmental health issues.
On May 25 in Norfolk, an open house will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. for anyone interested in seeing the mobile clinic. The mobile clinic will be parked on the north side of Medical Offices West in the Carson Cancer Center parking lot at Faith Regional Health Services.
On May 26 in Neligh, an open house will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. for anyone interested in seeing the mobile clinic. It will be parked on the north side of Antelope Memorial Hospital in Neligh.
“We look forward to being part of interdisciplinary health care teams in Norfolk and Neligh which will provide additional treatment options so patients can function at their best,” said Claudia Chaperon, Ph.D., project director of the UNMC College of Nursing Mobile Nurse Managed Clinic and assistant professor of nursing and geriatric nurse practitioner. “We’re so pleased to be able to provide this service to support the community in its goals of keeping its older citizens in optimum health.”
Geriatric nurse practitioners, Mandy Bissell and Sara Wolfson will accompany Dr. Chaperon, as well as Mike Markowsky, the driver of the mobile clinic. Initially, they will see two patients in each location.
A $300,000 federal stimulus grant is primarily funding the Mobile Nurse Managed Clinic — a 38-foot, custom-built vehicle. The clinic will fill a critical need for comprehensive geriatric assessments for fragile older adults in rural areas whose physical or mental conditions impair their functioning. The college is working with primary care physicians in communities that have identified a need for the service.
The mobile clinic will provide services in Norfolk and Neligh initially. Comprehensive geriatric assessments are scheduled by appointment. Patients can be referred through their primary care providers. The clinic will operate six days a month then ultimately eight days a month. The college hopes to expand to other locations in the future.
The clinic will provide clinical training for 25 students enrolled in the college’s geriatric nurse practitioner program, many of whom plan to practice in rural areas.
The clinic will provide clinical training for 25 students enrolled in the college’s geriatric nurse practitioner program, many of whom plan to practice in rural areas.
“Prior to this partnership, patients would have to travel to Omaha or other larger cities in order to receive this type of care,” said Charles Harper Jr., M.D. “This partnership provides another tool for primary care physicians to provide extensive care to the geriatric population here in Northeast Nebraska.”
The mobile clinic has two exam rooms, a wheelchair lift, laboratory testing equipment, and EKG machines. It’s also equipped with high definition video capability which can be used as a tool for a live telehealth connection to the patient’s care providers or to specialists for consultation anywhere in the state.
Through world-class research and patient care, UNMC generates breakthroughs that make life better for people throughout Nebraska and beyond. Its education programs train more health professionals than any other institution in the state. Learn more at unmc.edu.