Village Profile Home Page | About our Company | Sales Opportunities | Community eStore | vpmobile.us

To Your Health

Nebraskans breathe easy knowing that studies indicate the state’s residents are healthier than the majority of Americans. United Health Foundation ranked Nebraska the 12th most healthy state in its 2006 listings, while the state was ranked the 11th “Most Livable State” by Morgan Quitno Press, the 12th consecutive year Nebraska has ranked in the Top 15.

From a walk in the park to running a marathon A healthy mix of public programs help to keep Omahans physically fit.

Activate Omaha, for example, is a community-wide partnership of local health officials, city government, architects, health educators, health care providers, workplace wellness organizations and community groups determined to build a community that fosters “active living.”

Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Active Living by Design program, Greater Omaha is one of 25 communities selected to promote healthy activities as a way of life. Omaha’s bike trails, parks, city gardens and walking paths all influence healthier lifestyles. Activate Omaha’s mission is to create awareness, advocacy and excitement about healthy activities and the need to design the community in a way that encourages active lifestyles.

Many local and national charitable groups schedule annual walks and runs that benefit the participants and the organizations through donations. New in 2007, the American Heart Association’s “Start! Campaign,” launched in January to create a culture of physical activity in the workplace, featured the 3.5-mile Omaha-Council Bluffs Heart Walk in May, with festivities at the ConAgra Foods riverfront campus.

A growing number of local corporations and businesses set aside fitness areas where their employees can work out at work. Private health clubs and gyms provide equipment and optional personal training. Some are open 24 hours a day.

When Omahans do become ill, we benefit from world-class health care facilities and health care costs that are below the national average.

Medical schools and facilities
The Creighton University Medical Center (CUMC), the first four-year medical school established west of the Mississippi River, includes a 334-bed acute-care hospital; Creighton University Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, and Pharmacy and Health Professions; and Creighton Medical Associates, a network of nearly 300 faculty physicians who practice in clinic locations throughout Nebraska and Iowa.

CUMC is known for its centers of expertise in cardiac care, cancer care, specialized surgery, transfusion-free medicine and surgery, breast care, perinatal and neonatal services and trauma.

Last fall, CUMC launched a comprehensive endovascular program that combines a high-tech endovascular surgery suite with a team of specialists from multiple disciplines. Together, they treat a variety of vascular disorders, such as stroke, carotid artery disease and abdominal aortic aneurysms and other vascular disorders using minimally invasive alternatives to standard open vascular surgical procedures. The suite integrates robotics, modern ergonomics, radiographic imaging and precision instrumentation to enable vascular specialists to perform the procedures more efficiently and safely.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) includes the Lied Transplant Center and the Durham Research Center. Through clinical trials and experience, UNMC is responsible for bringing at least five major new drugs to the market. It also has developed many surgical procedures used around the world.

UNMC serves as a model in the area of bioterrorism preparedness. The Nebraska Health and Human Services System, UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center collaborated to develop the state’s Biocontainment Unit, the first 10-bed patient care unit in the nation. Dr. Steven Hinrichs, professor of pathology and microbiology, serves as director of the University of Nebraska Center for Biosecurity at UNMC. The medical center’s bioterrorism facilities have been visited by former Office of Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge and Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

The Nebraska Medical Center was formed in 1997 by the merger of Clarkson and University hospitals. It serves as the primary teaching hospital for UNMC and is a leader in solid organ transplantation, cardiology, radiation oncology, bone marrow transplantation, neurology, burn care and oncology. The Nebraska Epilepsy Center at

The Nebraska Medical Center has been recognized by The National Association of Epilepsy Centers as a level four regional center – the highest designation possible, while The Stroke Center at the hospital is the only certified stroke center in Nebraska.

The core degree programs of Clarkson College, an educational partner with The Nebraska Medical Center, include associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, post-master’s and certificates in the division of nursing and division of allied health. The college is nationally accredited through the Higher Learning Commission, North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Methodist Health System (MHS) is the oldest not-for-profit health care system in the area and employs approximately 5,000 people. MHS is the non-profit parent of a family of organizations that provide treatment options to anyone who requires care.

MHS affiliates include Methodist Hospital, a 430-bed acute-care facility that serves Omaha and its neighboring regions; Methodist Physicians Clinic, Inc.; Jennie Edmundson Memorial Hospital in Council Bluffs; Nebraska Methodist College – the Josie Harper Campus, a fully-accredited health professions college; and the Methodist Hospital Foundation.

Methodist plans to break ground this year on a $100 million, acute-care inpatient facility in west Omaha committed to women’s health services. In January, Fit Pregnancy magazine rated Omaha one of its “Five Best Cities to Have a Baby,” and credited Methodist Hospital as one of 50 Baby Friendly Hospitals in the U.S., designated for meeting UNICEF/World Health Organization standards for supporting breastfeeding.

Alegent Health Systems is the largest non-profit, faith-based health care system in Nebraska and southwestern Iowa with nine acute-care hospitals, more than 100 sites of service, 1,200 physicians and 8,500 employees. It is sponsored by Catholic Health Initiatives and Immanuel Health Systems.

Earlier this year, Alegent Health CEO Wayne Sensor was named one of the top 25 Innovators in Health Care by HealthImaging and IT Magazine. Alegent Health is the first health system in Omaha to implement the eICU® Program, the most advanced pairing of high-quality patient care and technology in critical care medicine. Alegent’s Lakeside Hospital, which opened in 2004, is a digitally-driven, high-tech facility where bar-code technology and electronic health records allow instant access to information.

Children’s Hospital is a 142-bed, non-profit organization that has been caring for children since 1948. It is the only full-service pediatric hospital in Nebraska and is home to the only dedicated pediatric emergency department in the region. Children’s Hospital serves as the primary inpatient teaching site for the joint Creighton University/University of Nebraska pediatric residency program.

Among Children’s unique services is the Eating Disorders Program. During the nearly three years of its operation, the program has cared for 360 children and adolescents from 19 states.

The goal of the program is to provide the support and treatment the patients need to gain two pounds per week (a national benchmark). The program at Children’s exceeds this goal; the patients gained 2.4 pounds per week. Because of the chronic

nature of an eating disorder, 33 percent of eating disorders patients nationally experience a repeat hospitalization. The Children’s program again betters the national average with a recidivism rate of 26 percent.

The Boys Town National Research Hospital is a recognized leader in the diagnosis and treatment of deaf or hard-of-hearing children and children with speech disorders. In

partnership with Alegent Health, its physicians also provide general pediatric care at area Boys Town Pediatrics clinics.

Charles Drew Health Center, Inc. provides medical services such as primary medical care for the entire family to include the homeless population, OB/GYN services, diagnostic laboratory, radiology, optometry and immunizations. A $4 million addition will double the size of the current health center building and serve an expanding client base.

OneWorld Community Health Centers, in partnership with the community, provide culturally respectful, quality health care to the underserved.

The non-profit Visiting Nurse Association-Omaha has been part of the Omaha community for 110 years, and serves all residents regardless of where they live or their financial status. VNA staff visit patients in a variety of settings – homes, nursing care facilities, community centers and homeless shelters.

In March, VNA-Omaha was accepted into the Visiting Nurse Associations of America’s (VNAA) Curricula for Homecare Advances in Management and Practice (CHAMP) national geriatric medication management course.

“Because the nation’s population is aging, the home health care industry has to be a leader in successfully managing geriatric care, including the complicated issues of medication management,” says VNA-Omaha President and CEO James Summerfelt. “By being selected to participate in this national program, we are bringing a vital service to our patients and the community.”

From education and research to promoting healthy lifestyles and providing comprehensive health care, Omaha’s medical community stands among the best.

Building for Humanity

Amanda Jedlicka, 34
Executive Director
Habitat for Humanity of Omaha, Inc.

In some major cities, young professionals are relegated to secondary roles while older corporate and civic leaders take the lead in planning and development.

Not so in Omaha, says Amanda Jedlicka.

Jedlicka grew up in Norfolk, Neb., and lived in Illinois and Georgia before choosing to move to Omaha in 1999. She came to Habitat for Humanity of Omaha in 1999 as the associate director and became executive director in 2005.

She says there are many extraordinary opportunities for young professionals to be instrumental in setting the goals for the Greater Omaha community – starting with the service organization she directs.

“One example is that many of the board members of Habitat for Humanity are under 40,” Jedlicka says. “They are helping shape the future of our organization, and that is a meaningful opportunity which might not be available in another city.”

“I really love the city,” she says. “People are approachable and always willing to give guidance and advice on career paths, community involvement or making connections.

“Young professionals are being drawn to Omaha because of the career opportunities and the chance to be involved,” she says. “Community leaders clearly believe in making Omaha a good place for young professionals and are investing money to make it attractive for generations to come.

“To me, it means a lot that people are thinking of our generation and wanting them to stay in Omaha. That support makes me feel like I have more of a chance of success here than I might in another city.”

She is the former chair of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Council (YPC) steering committee.

The YPC sponsors events and networking opportunities including the annual Young Professionals Summit in March. The YPC diversity committee assembles and puts online a cultural calendar highlighting the wide range of community events and entertainment opportunities.

It’s all part of a dedicated effort to create excitement about living in Omaha in order to attract and retain diverse young professionals. Jedlicka says it’s working.

Her success and that of other young professionals is increasingly being recognized. In 2006, she was honored as one of Omaha’s outstanding “40 Under 40” award winners by the Midlands Business Journal. The annual event acknowledges 40 successful Omaha area professionals under the age of 40.

“Omaha provides a unique opportunity for people who want to be involved because it is still growing and developing,” she says. “There is a lot of room for someone who wants to make an impact – who wants to make their mark on the community.”

And, perhaps, make history in the process.

Habitat for Humanity of Omaha, Inc.
www.habitatomaha.org
Young Professionals Council
www.omahachamber.org/