MMI Monthly 

The electronic newsletter of the Munroe-Meyer Institute at the University of Nebraska Medical Center

Sept. 12, 2017
A community conversation
                            
The year has flown by, and it's almost time for the second annual " MMI's Community Conversation -- Celebrating Successes & Setting Goals,"  which we will hold in October.
 
This event is important to MMI for many reasons. For one thing, it gives us a chance to reflect on what we've accomplished in the past year. Have we kept all our promises? Have we been accountable?
 
For another, our clients and the wider community have a right to know what we've done, ask us questions about our efforts, and provide feedback on our successes (or failures).
 
This is why the community breakfast is so important. I believe that we can be proud of what we accomplished together in the past year -- I hope that, as community stakeholders, you will agree. However, we also can all agree that our work is far from finished.
 
As we look forward to our next endeavors at MMI, this event provides the opportunity for our community colleagues to offer input, suggestions and inspiration.
 
I hope you will join us to tell us what you think at the event, from 8-10 a.m. on Oct.18 in Lower Storz at Nebraska Medicine, 4350 Dewey Ave, Omaha

We are more than partners in this journey -- we are a family.

Karoly Mirnics, M.D., Ph.D.
Director
Munroe-Meyer Institute
DHHS' Miller to hold statewide listening sessions
 
Courtney Miller, director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities at Nebraska's Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), will travel statewide this month and October on a "Let's Talk" tour, designed to gain stakeholder input on services provided by the Division of Developmental Disabilities.

"DHHS team members are motivated by our great mission -- helping people live better lives - to develop high-quality, efficient, and customer-friendly services," said Miller, chief executive officer of DHHS. "Meeting with people across the state is a key part of our plan to be responsive in serving all of Nebraska, particularly our state's most vulnerable citizens."

All interested persons are encouraged to attend and share their thoughts about what works with the current system, including both community-based services and state-operated facility services and opportunities for improvement.
 
"Individuals, their families, friends, providers and advocates are critical voices in the programs that serve Nebraskans with developmental disabilities," Miller said. "That's why it's essential to have these dialogues with the public. We look forward to receiving feedback."

Meetings will be held in the following locations (all times local):
 
Sept. 19, Papillion: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Sump Library, Room 50, 222 N. Jefferson St.
Oct. 3, North Platte: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., North Platte Library, Meeting Room, 120 West 4th St.
Oct. 4, Scottsbluff/Gering: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Gering Public Library, 1055 P St.
Oct. 5, Valentine: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Mid-Plains Community College, Valentine Campus, 715 East Highway 20
Oct. 10, Wayne: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Northstar Services, 1202 E.14th St
Oct. 11, Columbus: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Columbus Public Library, 2504 14th St.
Oct. 17, Omaha: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Autism Center of Nebraska, 9012 Q St.
Oct. 19, Lincoln: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Walt Branch Library, 6701 S.14th St.
Oct. 24, Beatrice: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Beatrice State Developmental Center, All Faiths Chapel, 3000 Lincoln Blvd.
Oct. 26, Kearney: 7 to 8:30 p.m. Holiday Inn, 110 2nd Ave.

The DHHS Business Plan identifies three goals that impact services to individuals with developmental disabilities in the 2017 fiscal year: 
  • establishing the Beatrice State Developmental Center as a resource able to serve multiple groups of Nebraska citizens with intellectual and developmental disabilities; 
  • decreasing the amount of time that elapses between when an individual who is eligible for DD services accepts a funding offer and when the individual actually starts receiving services; and 
  • delivering safe, high-quality integrated services and supports.
Clockwise from center, graduate Mason Plock-Sisoutho, program director Cathleen Piazza, Ph.D., Kathryn Peterson, Ph.D., and proud mother Kate Plock.

A graduation ceremony at MMI Pediatric Feeding

As his mother, his care team, other MMI staff members and friends lined the hall, Mason Plock-Sisoutho, graduation cap on his head, walked the length of the pediatric feeding hallway to celebrate his graduation from the feeding program.

Mason, age 5, has been with the feeding program for about two years, said Kate Plock, his mother. The length of time a child stays with the feeding program varies widely, but when goals are met, the "graduation ceremony" is a beloved tradition. Read more.   
Job trainee Madi Colbert and friend

New job track program focus is on animal care

Nine  young adults with developmental disabilities graduated in August from a 14-week kennel assistant certificate training program. The program was a collaboration between MMI,Craft LifeStyle Management (CLM) Farm in Ashland, Neb., Ollie Webb Center and the Madonna School.  Read more.    
From left: Becky Zessin, Kelsey Tourek, Amanda Mills, Jolene Johnson, Ph.D., and Abbey Siebler.

Learning aids? They're in the bag

A grant from the  Buffett Early Childhood Education Fund has allowed members of the MMI Education and Child Development Department to create bags filled with learning materials to help parents understand social-emotional learning and executive function. Read more here
Shauna Gosch

Gosch to attend Division of Early Childhood Conference

Shauna Gosch, a parent resource coordinator with MMI, will be attending the Division of Early Childhood Conference, "Young Children with Special Needs and Their Families," in Portland, Ore., in October.
 
Gosch will be attending not only as an outreach representative for MMI, but as the parent of two children with complex health care needs. She received a scholarship from the conference to cover the cost of admission.
 
The annual conference is the flagship of the professional development opportunities offered by the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children.

"People from all over the world will be in attendance at this conference and having a voice with some of the leaders of early childhood from so many places is a great privilege," she said. "This will be a chance for me to advocate for my son, the families that I work with, to express what I hear everyday about what is and is not working for our special needs children, and bring back great information to share among my peers. I am truly blessed to have such an amazing opportunity."
 
As a scholarship winner, Gosch will attend the main conference sessions on Oct. 5-6 and complete a written evaluation of the conference.
 
"I am very excited to take part in this as a mother of children with special needs and as a parent resource coordinator," she said. "I couldn't think of a better conference for me to attend that highlights my personal life as well as the people I work with every day." 

From left: Tyler Heath, Dr. Mirnics, Diane Pickering and June Standout Jackie Hankins. Not pictured: Holly New and Nichole Buchholz

MMI Standouts program seeks nominations

August's MMI Standouts are Diane Pickering, Human Genetics Laboratory ; Holly Ney,  p ediatric feeding; Nicole Buchholz, education and child development ; and Tyler Heath, ITS

September's Standouts are  Patty Cattano , H uman Genetics Laboratory; Megan Morse, p sychology; Andrea Clements, Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders; Tasha Tyson, d evelopmental medicine; and Rose Kratochvil, s peech. Watch next month for their photo with Dr. Mirnics. 

Nominations are being accepted for future monthly Standout Awards. Awardees will be  invited to lunch with Dr. Mirnics, receive a coffee mug or water bottle and have their picture featured in MMI Monthly.

Anyone in the MMI community may be nominated, and anyone on the UNMC campus or in the greater Omaha community may nominate. Anyone who works or volunteers at MMI is eligible, and up to five individuals will be selected monthly for this honor.

Nominations are due by 8 a.m. on the 15th of each month for the next cycle of Standouts. These nominations may be submitted online or e-mailed to  Sandy Willett for consideration .

News in brief

Human Genetics Lab aces College of American Pathologists' accreditation inspection
The Human Genetics Laboratory passed their biennial inspection to remain accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) with no deficiencies, which means that noncompliance was not identified for any requirement on the accreditation checklist.
Preparing for a laboratory inspection is a disciplined process that not only involves a particular section but involves the whole laboratory for compliance to safety, environmental concerns, space, patient accessioning and reporting, and specimen integrity. The team performing the unannounced inspection looks for consistent documentation of processes, validation of methods with appropriate references, and techniques that meet the standard of medical practice.

The Department of Physical Therapy welcomes new staff members
The Department of Physical Therapy welcomed three new members:
  • Brad Corr, D.P.T., is the new director of adult physical therapy programming; 
  • Lauren Arceneaux, D.P.T., is the new pediatric physical therapy resident; and 
  • Aimee Eckstein, D.P.T., joins the Bellevue-based physical therapy team.

MMI's Lichtblau to be published in Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
Katie Lichtblau, a Ph.D. student working with adviser Amanda Zangrillo, Ph.D., has had her thesis -- "Resurgence of Destructive Behavior Following Functional Communication Training Implemented with and without Extinction" -- accepted for publication in the   Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. Reviewers noted that her "impeccably written manuscript" was "extremely well-designed" and addresses "an important research question in terms of basic science and in terms of application." 

Pediatric Feeding Disorders Program welcomes new staff members
The MMI Pediatric Feeding Disorders Program was excited to welcome two new predoctoral interns, Deva Carrion and Emily Edwards, who both arrived in July. The program also welcomed two new doctoral students, Sarah Haney and Jessica Crisci, who began their training in August.

Human Genetics Laboratory welcomes new staff members
The Human Genetics Laboratory in June hired Storm Keffer as a cytogenetic technologist and Joanna Spaulding as a laboratory genetic counselor, and in July hired Hillary Cooper  as a molecular genetic technologist. Also recently, Alicia Vega began employment as a client service representative and Cassandra Essien started as a clinical authorization representative.
 
Physical therapy task force to host event in September
The MMI Physical Therapy Department has f ormed a task force with the Children's Hospital Physical Therapy Department to re-establish a Pediatric Physical Therapy Special Interest Group that will foster regional professional networks and offer continuing education opportunities for area therapists. The task force will have its first event on Sept. 26. MMI's Max Kurz, Ph.D., will present "Decoding the Brain Activity of Children with Cerebral Palsy." The lecture will be geared to physical and occupational therapists who work with children with CP.

AmeriCorps renewal for Autism Care for Toddlers Clinic, early intervention
Billy Higgins, Ph.D., has been officially awarded another year of funding for his AmeriCorp program serving children in the Autism Care for Toddlers clinic and the early intervention clinic at MMI. The award is for about $300,000 and will fund 56 AmeriCorps positions.

Notes:
  • An article co-authored by MMI's Max Kurz, Ph.D., "A Reduced Somatosensory Gating Response in Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis Is Related to Walking Impairment," has been selected for APSselect, a collection from the American Physiological Society that showcases some of the best recently published articles in physiological research. 
  • Two graduate students in Dr. Kurz's laboratory, Jacy VerMaas and Rashelle Hoffman, received NASA Nebraska Space Grant Fellowships.
  • Julie Carstens, molecular genetic technologist in the Human Genetics Laboratory, presented a research poster, "Apparent Lack of Segregation of a Pathogenic Nonsense PALB2 Variant in a Family with a Strong History of Cancer," at the annual Cancer Genomics Consortium meeting recently held in Denver. 
  • Cindy Miles, Ph.D., president of the APTA Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy, visited Omaha and MMI in August. Omaha is in consideration for the academy's 2020 Annual National conference.
  • Marilu Nelson, Human Genetics Laboratory molecular supervisor, was presented with the Margaret Barch Memorial Workshop Presentation Award by the Association of Genetic Technologists at the 42nd Annual Meeting in St. Louis in June for her talk, "Transitioning from Classical Cytogenetics to Molecular Genetics."
  • Shelly Aust successfully passed the American Society for Clinical Pathology certification exam and was promoted to Cytogenetic Technologist II in the Human Genetics Laboratory.
  • Brian Greer, Ph.D., and two of the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders' Medical Sciences Interdepartmental Area (MSIA) Ph.D. students, Billie Retzlaff and Vivian Ibanez, will be presenting at the Association for Behavior Analysis International Conference in Paris in November.
  • Amy Nordness, Ph.D., director of the MMI Department of Speech-Language Pathology, is the co-author of a new paper, "Patient-provider Communication for People with Severe Dysarthria: Referral Policies that Lead to Systems Change," which has been published in the journal "Seminars in Speech & Language."
  • Director of Physical Therapy Sandra Willett has been appointed to a three-year term with the  UNMC Interprofessional Academy of Educators.
The MMI Physical Therapy Department has volunteered their time for the past two seasons to the BSC TOPSoccer program for players with special needs. The group works on soccer skills by using adapted and creative training methods to assist the players in gaining the soccer skills needed to play a meaningful and enjoyable game of soccer.

Upcoming Events
 
Upcoming events of interest to the MMI community:

Sept. 13: 3-9 p.m., Meyer Foundation for Disabilities' fundraiser at Don & Millie's Saddle Creek and Farnam streets location. Mention the fundraiser and 20 percent of your total purchase will be donated to the Meyer Foundation for Disabilities.

Sept. 17: 1 p.m. PHI RHO For a Cause: Phi Rho Sigma Medical Fraternity's third Annual Charity Golf Tournament benefiting The Meyer Foundation for Disabilities (MFD). For more information contact Connor Mulhall or Aidan Hoie . Benson Champion Golf Course, 5333 N 72nd St., Omaha. 

Sept. 23: 1:30-3 p.m. The Third Annual Gotta Be Me, Inc. Heartlight Style Theatrical Production, Stinson Park, Bradford Bowl Stage, 2285 S 67th St., Omaha.

Sept 26: Munroe-Meyer Institute Forum: "Decoding the Brain Activity of Children with Cerebral Palsy," presented by Max Kurz, Ph.D. Check-in at 6:30 p.m., presentation at 7 p.m., UNMC Omaha campus, Sorrell Center, Room 1005.

Sept. 30: 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Down Syndrome Alliance of The Midlands presents the Omaha Buddy Walk at Stinson Park in Aksarben Village, 2285 S 67th St., Omaha.

Oct. 11: 3-9 p.m., Meyer Foundation for Disabilities' fundraiser at Don & Millie's Saddle Creek and Farnam streets location. Mention the fundraiser and 20 percent of your total purchase will be donated to the Meyer Foundation for Disabilities.

Oct. 13: 5-10 p.m.,  Friends of Scottish Rite Dinner and Auction, Scottish Rite Masonic Center, 202 S 20th Street, Omaha.

Oct. 29: 4-6 p.m., Munroe-Meyer Institute Trunk or Treat Event, MMI parking lot, 444 S. 44th St. 
Links of the month
 
News from around the internet of interest to the MMI community.


Disability Scoop explores a report showing Rental Market Unkind to Those With Developmental Disabilities.
Send your news to MMI Monthly
 
Is there something exciting going on in your department? Send your news to MMI Monthly to share with your colleagues at the Munroe-Meyer Institute. MMI Monthly will be published during the first week of each month. 

  Send your news to us!
Contact the Munroe-Meyer Institute
  Email the Munroe-Meyer Institute
 
402-559-6430 (phone)
402-559-5737 (fax)

See the Munroe-Meyer Institute website.

Follow MMI on Facebook.

Follow MMI on Twitter at @unmc_mmi