Courtney Phillips, chief executive officer of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, visited UNMC and Nebraska Medicine on July 20.
During the visit, Phillips and other officials from HHS met with UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., Nebraska Medicine President Brad Britigan, M.D., dean of the UNMC College of Medicine, and Rosanna Morris, interim CEO of Nebraska Medicine, as well as other campus and hospital leaders in the areas of clinical care, research and education.
The group engaged in discussions on Medicaid issues, the iEXCEL℠ initiative and other medical technology issues, children’s health, public health and behavioral health, as well as touring the Biocontainment Unit as part of a walking tour of the campus.
Phillips became the leader of Nebraska’s HHS in April.
“It was really helpful for me to get a better understanding of some of the key operations of UNMC, what the medical center does, who you guys are, and what are some of the elements that we could collaborate on,” Phillips said. “We can actually start to fit some of the pieces together between the department and the med center.”
Phillips was joined on her visit by:
- Calder Lynch, director, division of Medicaid & long-term care;
- Roger Donovick, M.D., medical director, division of behavioral health;
- Jenifer Roberts-Johnson, deputy director, division of public health; and
- Judy Martin, deputy director, division of public health.
Phillips said the discussions with campus leaders were insightful.
“It was nice to get feedback on our operations as we begin to shape our focus areas for the next year,” she said. “Behavioral health, of course, is a big topic in terms of building professional capacity both for our internal operations of the department as well as external.”
Phillips also identified the discussions on Medicaid as helpful.
“It was a pleasure to host Ms. Phillips and her team and show them what UNMC and Nebraska Medicine are all about,” said Bob Bartee, vice chancellor for external affairs. “As the med center works towards its goal of making Nebraska the healthiest state in the country, our partnership with HHS will be invaluable.”