Bringing mental health care to all Nebraskans
The University of Nebraska Medical Center Department of Psychiatry provides outreach outpatient mental health services to Native Americans of the Omaha Tribe on the Omaha Reservation in Thurston County Nebraska, and to other under-served populations through its association with the Charles Drew Health Center, OneWorld Community Health Center, and the Building Bright Futures public-private partnership initiative, all in Omaha. In conjunction with faculty from its residency partner the Creighton University Department of Psychiatry, UNMC Department of Psychiatry faculty also provide educational inpatient, outpatient, and day hospital experiences at the Omaha Veteran's Administration Hospital.
The combined Creighton-Nebraska residency program also offers a Community Psychiatry rotation to introduce psychiatry residents to community-based services. Working in interprofessional teams, residents learn best practices, leadership skills and the recurrent challenges facing individuals with serious and persistent mental illness. Residents interact with law enforcement, criminal justice services, public housing, and Medicaid and Medicare, to learn how patients with co-occurring medical and substance abuse problems often receive much of their care in community-based services disconnected from medical clinics and hospitals. Residents learn the Recovery Philosophy of Care, the strengths-based treatment-planning paradigm, participate in an interprofessional case conference, and are encouraged to make home patient visits. The Community Psychiatry rotation also now includes rural outreach to hospitals, clinics, and community-based services using the Department’s Telepsychiatry Consultation Service.