UNMC for the record

Nebraska Medical Center-Nebraska Medicine partners with CHI, YouTurn to support families in crisis
Nebraska Medicine-Nebraska Medical Center and CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center-Bergan Mercy are all too often scenes of grief and anger as a result of violence taking place on Omaha’s streets. Because of that, the two health systems are partnering with the Omaha violence prevention group YouTurn. which supports families in crisis during stressful times and works to defuse any potential violence or retaliation when victims are brought in for treatment.

YouTurn will provide “street outreach workers” who will be dispatched to the two emergency departments to intervene and mitigate potential acts of violence or retaliation when victims of violence become patients there. The Omaha Police Department works in conjunction with YouTurn to deploy staff at each trauma center. YouTurn members will then work closely with family and friends who may gather on the two campuses.

“We as health care professionals see firsthand the unhealthy conditions that violence causes,” said Cliff Robertson, M.D., CHI Health CEO. “That’s why we are passionate about reducing the number of violent crimes and injuries that present to the Trauma Center at CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center – Bergan Mercy, as well as to our emergency departments citywide. Working with YouTurn, we will make a difference by offering long-term solutions and resources to violence; ultimately, a different way of thinking.”

YouTurn team members will be debriefed by personnel at Nebraska Medical Center and CUMC-Bergan Mercy on site to gain an understanding of the situation they’re being asked to help with.

“This partnership will be a valuable resource for our organization in dealing with violence,” said Dan DeBehnke, M.D., M.B.A., CEO of Nebraska Medicine. “The team members at YouTurn have the knowledge and expertise in this area, so if a situation arises in which they can help, we will be happy to have them here to diffuse potentially tense situations. Additionally, the role of the hospital today is now more than to just treat patients when they’re ill. It’s to keep our community healthy, as well. In that regard, our work with YouTurn is a perfect fit.”

College of Nursing’s DNP program ranked among best in nation

RegisteredNursing.org has recently ranked the UNMC College of Nursing’s doctor of nursing practice (D.N.P.) program as one of the best in the U.S. The UNMC program ranked eighth out of 186 schools analyzed. D.N.P. programs were assessed on factors that represent how well a program supports students and their career including published surveys, student data, and other educational data from several sources. The organization created a weighted score system analyzing tuition adjusted for the county’s cost of living, ratio of nursing students to total students, hospital affiliation, and online program availability. UNMC’s DNP program prepares graduates for the highest level of nursing leadership and practice within organizations and systems, to improve health care delivery and patient outcomes at all levels and for diverse populations, to serve as faculty in nursing education programs, and to translate research findings for clinical practice. See more information about the ranking.

Dr. Pfeiffer returns to UNMC to deliver Neurology Grand Rounds

An informal reception was held Thursday morning for Dr. Ronald Pfeiffer in the UNMC Department of Neurological Sciences in the Clarkson Doctors Building North. Joining Dr. Pfeiffer (center) at the reception was Charles Murrin, Ph.D. (left) and John Bertoni, M.D., Ph.D. (right). Dr. Murrin retired from UNMC in 2012 after a 34-year career. He was a professor of pharmacology and experimental neuroscience. Dr. Bertoni continues to serve as professor, neurological sciences, and as director of UNMC’s Parkinson’s disease program.

Thursday was a homecoming of sorts for Ronald Pfeiffer, M.D.

A 1973 graduate of the UNMC College of Medicine, Dr. Pfeiffer worked at UNMC as a neurologist specializing in Parkinson’s disease from 1977 to 1994.

He returned Thursday to present Neurology Grand Rounds in a presentation titled, “Gastrointestinal Dysfunction in Parkinson’s Disease.”

After leaving UNMC, Dr. Pfeiffer worked for 22 years at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. Three years ago, he moved to Oregon Health & Science University in Portland as a professor of neurology.