Omaha, Neb – The University of Nebraska Medical Center and its clinical partner, Nebraska Medicine, have entered into an agreement with Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital to provide physician and academic services at the new Madonna rehabilitation and long-term care hospital being built west of Village Pointe in Omaha.
Madonna’s Omaha Campus also will become the primary training site for a new UNMC-supported residency program in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), the first such program in Nebraska and one of the few in the upper Midwest region. Rehabilitation physicians are nerve, muscle and bone experts who treat injuries or illnesses that affect how you move.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to transform the lives of adults and children seeking rehabilitative care, as well as provide quality academic experiences for our residents, medical students and other health professionals,” said UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D. “We’re proud to partner with such an exceptional organization.”
According to an independent study, Omaha is underserved in physical medicine and rehabilitation services. In fact, 1,300 individuals each year would quality for rehabilitation in the metro area but are currently referred to nursing homes and other facilities.
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital is addressing that need through the construction of a 110-bed facility with the full continuum of inpatient rehabilitation care that can serve adult and pediatric patients with traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, stroke and neurological diseases.
In April, Madonna established a long-term care hospital and inpatient rehabilitation service at Nebraska Medicine — Bellevue. While UNMC and Nebraska Medicine have assisted Madonna Rehabilitation Specialty Hospital (MRSH) clinically at the Nebraska Medicine – Bellevue location, the affiliation agreement provides a wider range of clinical services, as well as academic programs, when Madonna opens its new Omaha Campus west of Village Pointe in the fall of 2016.
“Madonna is honored to begin this new academic and clinical relationship with UNMC and Nebraska Medicine,” said Paul Dongilli Jr., Ph.D., FACHE, Omaha Campus administrator and COO of Madonna. “This partnership will bring together the expertise of two outstanding health care organizations. It will combine clinical medical expertise and academic training to benefit our patients. In addition, it will allow researchers from both institutions to collaborate and develop new research advancing the field of rehabilitation medicine. We are thrilled to move forward with this collaboration for Madonna’s Omaha Campus.”
As part of the affiliation agreement:
- UNMC/Nebraska Medicine will provide physician services at Madonna’s Omaha Campus.
- UNMC will develop a department of physical medicine and rehabilitation within its College of Medicine.
- Madonna will serve as the primary teaching site for UNMC’s new residency program in PM&R, the first such program in Nebraska and one of the few in the upper Midwest region. There are no PM&R residency programs in Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. PM&R specialists are physicians who have completed medical school plus four years of residency training.
- Madonna’s Omaha Campus will become an accredited rehabilitative center of excellence through the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities.
- Both parties will support rehabilitation medicine through clinical, teaching and research program development.
- A research collaborative to develop new technologies that improve rehabilitation outcomes will be established between UNMC and Madonna’s Institute for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering.
- Educational opportunities will exist for students in such UNMC programs as physical therapy and other allied health disciplines, dental, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and others to meet expanding workforce demands.
“By bringing together these exemplary organizations, we better serve our community, patients and students and, at the same time, increase the training, research knowledge and innovation that can transform the lives of all people with rehabilitative needs,” said Bradley Britigan, M.D., dean of the UNMC College of Medicine and president of Nebraska Medicine.
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital is a national leader in specialized rehabilitation programs. Founded in 1958, Madonna has helped adults and children rebuild their lives from disabling illness or injury. Its Lincoln facility is the only freestanding rehabilitation hospital in Nebraska, one of the largest independent rehabilitation hospitals in the country and the only hospital to have all levels of rehabilitative care in one facility. Go to www.madonna.org to
learn more.
Through world-class research and patient care, UNMC, and its primary clinical partner, Nebraska Medicine, generate 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 and nebraskamed.com.