UNMC and Nebraska Medicine open hub to help North Omahans reduce health disparities

OMAHA — Shanda Ross recalls sitting on her porch stoop as a kid, surrounded by a maze of North Omaha public housing units where violence and social ills had become all too familiar.

That landscape near 30th and Lake Streets has since shifted dramatically, with a big church having risen on Ross’ old stomping grounds and the multi-faceted Highlander neighborhood growing to the south where the low-income Pleasantview Homes project once stood.

Now Ross, 53, is part of another change in the area.

A nurse by trade and a program director at Nebraska Medicine, she will help oversee the new Community Wellness Collaborative that officially opened Wednesday on the ground level of a new Highlander building.

The space at 2120 N. 29th St. is not a medical clinic, but rather will house a small staff tasked with connecting area residents to health-focused resources and career training opportunities. The overall goal is healthier lifestyles.

Ross said she got chills, exclaimed “whoa” and teared up when tapped to help launch the venture in the historically disconnected and disadvantaged area where she grew up.

“I know the struggle,” she told the Nebraska Examiner. “To be able to be a part of something that now is making sure this community can thrive where they live is a blessing, an honor.”

Nebraska Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center describe their joint effort as a mission to reduce health disparities facing residents of the 68111 ZIP code. 

It will start off with the staff “listening” to locals and trying in various ways to glean information to better identify and break down barriers to healthy lifestyles.

Ross said the leased space can hold up to 100 people for community engagement, informational sessions or other activities. Examples of on-site services, she said, could range from English classes for refugee families to a program on preventing and managing high blood pressure.

The collaborative also will provide guidance on how to access financial scholarships and other support for careers including in the health field.

“The CWC will let us be more proactive about putting preventive measures in place to improve the health of our community,”said Ross, Nebraska Medicine’s director for engagement, outreach and belonging. “We’re thrilled to become part of the neighborhood, listen to members of our community and see how we can transform lives.” 

Heidi Keeler, assistant vice chancellor for the UNMC Office of Community Engagement, said the Highlander site allows UNMC and its clinical partner Nebraska Medicine to directly bring preventative health measures into North Omaha. The CWC hub is on the commercial-retail floor of a largely residential building.

The Highlander development that continues to expand around 30th and Parker Streets sprouted on the former Pleasantview public housing site, which was demolished around 2008. The 23-acre property sat vacant for years until a renaissance led by Seventy Five North Revitalization Corp. 

Ongoing transformation includes architecturally trendy rental dwellings (houses also coming), a commercial center and entertainment venues for an intergenerational and mixed-income community. Charles Drew Health Center is among various institutions at the campus that’s funded through a variety of sources including philanthropists, low-income housing tax credits and public tax-increment financing.

Primary financial backers of the CWC venture, officials said, are UNMC and Nebraska Medicine.

The Seventy Five North team said they look forward to the  new tenant further enriching the campus, and “empowering our neighbors in making informed decisions to enhance their health and well-being.”

Ross grew up just to the north, the Hilltop Homes public housing project, which also has been demolished (in the mid-1990s) and replaced in part by the  Salem Baptist Church complex.

“When I was a girl, this is not what I saw,” Ross said, reflecting on the existing landscape. What was clear at the time, she added, was a need to stay focused on her  future.

Services like the Community Wellness Collaborative over time can help close health, income and education gaps in North Omaha, Ross said.

Though she’s based elsewhere, she said, she’ll help oversee the CWC programming and be there often.

“This is where we have the most opportunity to address health equity and building out career pathways,” said Ross.