Billy Higgins, Ph.D., is excited to show off the changes to The Autism Care for Toddlers Clinic at the clinic’s open house, which will be held from 4-6 p.m. March 9 at the clinic, housed in the Autism Center of Nebraska building at 9012 Q St.
“It’s exciting to be able to share what we’ve been working on with the community,” said Dr. Higgins, director of the clinic.
Thanks to a newly renovated space — the Autism Center of Nebraska spent more than $500,000 on the project — the clinic will take up 8,300 square feet of space, allowing Dr. Higgins and his team of providers to increase the amount of services provided and the number of toddlers receiving services.
“I’m excited for people to see the space we have and I’m excited for my staff to have the opportunity to describe what it is we do in that space,” he said.
Providers, community partners, MMI employees and ACT Clinic families are invited to attend the event, which will feature:
- Tours of the newly renovated clinic space and training room;
- Information on clinic amenities and services; and
- Light hors d’oeuvres and beverages.
“I want to be sure that people have an opportunity to see what we’re doing, so we can work better together to try and serve these kids,” Dr. Higgins said.
“We have a number of psychologists whose clinics are located in pediatric clinics in the community, and I want to make sure that the providers at those clinics understand the services that we’re providing and just know what we do.”
The larger space will also enable the clinic to expand its training mission, Dr. Higgins said. Already partnered for training students with the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Dr. Higgins also is exploring a partnership with the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
“We’re working across the NU system to help develop training programs that can recruit high school kids from rural communities to get an undergraduate and master’s level education,” he said. “That will allow them to go back to their communities and start to fill the needs that are starting to be met in Omaha, which are still not being met in 95 percent of the state.”
Rene Ferdinand, president and CEO of the Autism Center of Nebraska, said he was pleased with the partnership with the ACT Clinic.
“The collaboration has been such a pleasure,” Ferdinand said. “The staff of MMI is just a joy to work with.”