UNMC for the record

Dr. Wehbi elected regent of American College of Healthcare Executives
Nizar Wehbi, M.D., assistant professor, College of Public Health, has been elected a regent for the American College of Healthcare Executives. He will represent Nebraska and western Iowa. At its annual meeting in Chicago this week, the ACHE installed 28 new regents, each of whom will serve three-year terms, and two regents-at-large. All of the regents are board certified in healthcare management as ACHE fellows. The ACHE is an international professional society of 40,000 health care executives who lead hospitals, health care systems and other health care organizations. Considered the preeminent professional society for health care professionals dedicated to improving health, ACHE’s mission is to advance its members and health care management excellence.

Dr. Joyce Black awarded national award for work in wound care
Joyce Black, Ph.D., professor, College of Nursing-Omaha Division, was awarded the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel’s (NPUAP) President’s Recognition Award at its biennial conference earlier this month. The award is a significant achievement as it recognizes Dr. Black as a national expert in the wound care provider community.

Dr. Black is a certified wound care nurse and a Fellow with the American Academy of Nursing, inducted for her work in the field of pressure injuries. Her clinical practice has focused on orthopedics, critical care, burn care, respiratory diseases, wound care, and plastic surgery.

In addition to serving as an NPUAP director for many years, Dr. Black served as president in 2006 and 2007. She chaired NPUAP’s effort to define pressure injuries — ulcers — and mucous membranes in 2010. Dr. Black also identified the problem of deep tissue pressure injury while serving on the NPUAP board and clarified its definition in 2016.

She is widely published in the area of pressure injuries and assisted with the development of both the 2009 and 2014 International Clinical Practice Guidelines. She also served as co-chair of the Pressure Injury Staging Task Force. In 2015 she was the recipient of the Thomas Stewart Founder’s Award.
The NPUAP President’s Recognition Award was created in 2013 and is presented to an individual who has made special contributions to NPUAP and to the field of pressure injury prevention and treatment.

Dr. Balasanova participating in April 4 workshop on opioid abuse
A UNMC psychiatrist, Alena Balasanova, M.D., will be part of a panel discussion on the impact of opioid abuse on the workplace. The panel is part of a workshop that will run from 7:30 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, April 4, at the Weitz Community Engagement Center at the University of Nebraska of Omaha.

The event, which is sponsored by Human Resource Association of the Midlands (HRAM) and the Wellness Council of the Midlands (WELLCOM), is open to the public. The workshop is part of a series that HRAM and WELLCOM have partnered on to provide business professionals with expert information on trending topics of compensation, benefits and wellness.

A 2012 graduate of Harvard Medical School, Dr. Balasanova is an instructor in the department of psychiatry. She specializes in dealing with people with addictions.

She will be joined on the panel by Chad Robacker, group supervisor in the Omaha District Office of the Drug Enforcement Agency – Tactical Diversion Squads, and David Kramer, an attorney with the Omaha law firm of Baird Holm.

Cost is $40 for members of WELLCOM or HRAM, and $65 for non-members. UNMC/Nebraska Medicine employees would qualify for the member cost of $40. Click here to register for the event.

EMPOWER to hold dodgeball tournament today
EMPOWER will hold a dodgeball tournament and spring social from 5-8 p.m. today at the Center for Healthy Living gyms. Participants can sign up in teams of five or solo to be matched up with a team. Registration is $5 per person at the event.

Afterward, the group will go to the Scriptown Brewery, 3922 Farnam St., Omaha, for a social hour. Non-competitors can join in the event for $10, which provides food and drink discounts and a chance at door prizes.

EMPOWER is a student-led, interprofessional initiative with the mission of increasing awareness and providing opportunities for future health care professionals to become involved in efforts to minimize domestic and sexual violence in our community and beyond.

Warren on board of directors of the Institute for Career Advancement
Aileen Warren, assistant vice chancellor and director of UNMC Human Resources, is a member at large on the board of directors of the Institute for Career Advancement Needs (ICAN). ICAN’s goal is to turn people into leaders who are resilient, agile and able to leverage and maximize teams and communicate with presence. ICAN inspires leaders through curriculum based-programs and transforms organizations through innovative on-site opportunities tailored to meet the unique goals of companies.