Kaleidoscope 2009 to support adult crisis unit

Carl Greiner, M.D., and his wife, Belinda, are honorary co-chairs of the Kaleidoscope 2009 event, which will be held in April at The LaVista Conference Center.

The University Hospital Auxiliary is pleased to announce Kaleidoscope 2009 … Reaching New Horizons.

The event will be held Saturday, April 4 in a new location, The LaVista Conference Center. Proceeds will primarily benefit The Nebraska Medical Center Adult Crisis Unit (ACU).

Carl Greiner, M.D., professor of psychiatry at UNMC, and his wife, Belinda, are pleased to be the honorary chairs for the event.

Dr. Greiner is a board certified adult psychiatrist with subspecialty boards in forensic psychiatry.

“Updating and enhancing the physical environment in the adult crisis unit is a compassionate response to Omaha’s mental health needs and a deserving focus for this year’s Kaleidoscope project,” Dr. Greiner said.

Mental illness affects one in five families in America including persons of any age, race, income or religion. Without treatment the consequences of mental illness are staggering: disability, unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness, inappropriate incarceration, violence and suicide.

“Updating and enhancing the physical environment in the adult crisis unit is a compassionate response to Omaha’s mental health needs and a deserving focus for this year’s Kaleidoscope project.” Carl Greiner, M.D.

The good news is that most people with mental illness can be relieved of their symptoms by seeking help and actively participating in an individual treatment program.

“They are real illnesses, and the suffering they cause can be particularly painful and isolating,” Dr. Greiner said. “Mental illness presents a great challenge to the afflicted individual and to society, but treatment does make a difference.”

In response to intense community need, The Nebraska Medical Center Adult Crisis Unit opened in 2003. Since then, more than 2,000 patients have been served. This 10-bed inpatient unit provides safety, structure and support to stabilize the patient’s condition and help them transition to a successful long term treatment plan.

“The Nebraska Medical Center’s Adult Crisis Unit provides much needed adult inpatient services,” Belinda Greiner said. “It offers focused treatment and a safe environment for those needing stabilization and acute psychiatric care.

“The medical center’s ongoing commitment to the ACU is a meaningful part of its stated dedication to compassionate, ethical, quality patient care, and to improving the quality of life in our community and we are pleased to be a part,” Belinda Greiner said.

Kaleidoscope 2009 will fund much needed improvements and unit amenities to create a more comfortable, therapeutic milieu for the patients.

For more information about this event, please contact the University Hospital Auxiliary at 559-5390.