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Debra Romberger, M.D. |
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Lynell Klassen, M.D. |
The accreditation means the human research program at the VA is recognized as adhering to high standards — which is significant to UNMC faculty with VA affiliations.
The human research program at the Omaha VA Medical Center is the first in Nebraska to receive AAHRPP accreditation and places it in the top tier nationally of institutes involved in clinical research. AAHRPP accredits organizations that conduct biomedical, behavioral or social sciences research involving human participants. Organizations must demonstrate they can provide participant safeguards that surpass the threshold of state and federal requirements.
“The accreditation is significant because it means the human research program at the Omaha VA Medical Center is recognized as adhering to high standards,” said Debra Romberger, M.D., vice chairwoman of research in the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine and associate chief of staff for research and development at the Omaha division of the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System. “We are proud that our research program is the first one in the state of Nebraska to receive the AAHRPP accreditation status.”
Omaha VA Medical Center staff and scientists also serve on the faculty at UNMC and Creighton University Medical Center. VA medical staff, scientists, nurses, pharmacists, residents and fellows working with UNMC and Creighton faculty can also be involved with research projects.
The accreditation process is quite extensive, Dr. Romberger said. The process took more than a year and involved several UNMC and Creighton faculty members. It began with a self-assessment, then a three-day site visit by the accreditation body.
AAHRPP meets periodically to evaluate materials and reports for programs and ultimately decides the institution’s accreditation status — full, qualified, pending or disapproved.
“Receiving full approval places the Omaha VA in the top tier nationally of institutes involved in clinical research,” said Lynell Klassen, M.D., Henry J. Lehnhoff Professor and chairman of the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine. “This accreditation follows the previous approval given to the VA for conducting clinical research in a safe manner.
“Our VA association is critical for us to achieve increased national recognition in both basic and clinical research. This accreditation gives increased legitimacy to all our research activities.”
Researchers at the Omaha VA Medical Center study a wide range of health problems with a special focus on clinical problems prevalent in the veteran community.
Current research at the Omaha VA Medical Center focuses on issues such as diabetes, weight loss strategies, cancer treatments, genetic risks for lung disease, therapies for mental health disorders including depression and substance abuse, case management for lung disease and new tools to place breathing tubes during surgery. Research is funded by grants from the national VA research program, the National Institutes for Health, foundations and industry.
The VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System serves more than 172,500 veterans in Nebraska, western Iowa and portions of Kansas and Missouri. Omaha’s medical center is an inpatient facility and also has a large outpatient clinic for primary and specialty care. The nursing home care unit is in Grand Island. There are community-based outpatient clinics in Lincoln, Grand Island, North Platte and Norfolk. Future plans are for clinics to be opened in Holdrege and Bellevue in Nebraska, and Shenandoah, Iowa.