Office of Health Professions Education is created

Nebraska Medicine has created the Office of Health Professions Education, a new department dedicated to using education to facilitate the development and maintenance of a health professions workforce capable of meeting the needs of patients and others served by our organization.

“The OHPE will work to align the activities of the clinical and educational missions within Nebraska Medicine, UNMC and our community and regional partners,” said Kelly Caverzagie, M.D., associate dean for educational strategy for the UNMC College of Medicine and vice president for education for Nebraska Medicine.

The three-person office will be directed by Frank Pietrantoni, who has been with Nebraska Medicine in a variety of capacities for nearly 25 years. He most recently served as a manager in employee development and as an e-learning lead senior analyst.

“Frank has a passion and commitment to improving education and training, especially as it relates to measuring and assessing the effectiveness of education and training,” Dr. Caverzagie said. “He has already begun to identify innovative methods and technologies to help us achieve assessment models that are more outcome/evidence-based.”

Kay Grant will serve as one of the two program coordinators for the OHPE. A graduate of the physical activity in health promotion program at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Grant also is a graduate of the Great Plains Public Health Leadership Institute through the UNMC College of Public Health.

Her health promotion interests include obesity prevention, workforce development and violence prevention. She has worked in a physical therapy setting, a community health center and in the dean’s office of the UNO College of Education.

Carla Snyder will serve as the other program coordinator for the OHPE. She has more than 25 years of health care experience with a large part of her early career spent working at Clarkson Hospital. Most recently, she has been serving as manager of clinical quality and patient safety for OneWorld Community Health Centers.

Snyder’s undergraduate training was in clinical laboratory science, and she earned a master’s degree in health care management. She has a strong interest in patient safety, clinical quality, patient satisfaction, and the role teamwork plays in these endeavors.

The OPHE is currently located in the East Campus Corporate Pavilion (ECCP) in the Mutual of Omaha Bank building but will be moving to the fourth floor of Wittson Hall in the near future.