Nebraska Makes Gains in Workforce Growth
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The Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska (BHECN) recently released its legislative report that highlights a nearly 15 percent increase in behavioral health providers in Nebraska from 2010 - 2016.
"Rural families may have to travel long distances to see a provider or may only have access to a primary care doctor in their community," said Howard Liu, M.D., director of BHECN. "It's crucial to address mental health concerns as they arise, so improving access is a priority."
Read more.
Read more about the report in these related articles:
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BHECN Annual Awards - Nominations Due March 15
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Do you know someone who is making a significant contribution to behavioral health in Nebraska?
BHECN is accepting nominations for our Annual Awards. Recipients can include providers, students, consumers and family members who are working to improve behavioral health for Nebraskans.
- Ambassador Award - Recognizes outstanding efforts of an individual student or early career professional to reach out to other students/providers in building the future behavioral health care workforce across the state of Nebraska.
- Courage Award - Recognizes outstanding service and outreach to the community by a consumer of behavioral health services or a family member.
The nomination deadline is
March 15, 2018
.
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BHECN Ambassador Spotlights
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Resident of the Year – Spencer Gallner, M.D.
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Lasting Hope Recovery Center (LHRC)
awarded the 4th Annual Resident-of-the-Year Award to
Spencer Gallner, M.D
., a third-year resident from Omaha. The other nominees included
Alyssa Hickert, M.D.
and
David Marshall, M.D.
“My experience at LHRC has been an incredible one that spans my entire medical education thus far, spanning from medical school through residency,” said Dr. Gallner. “As a medical student, I enjoyed honing my interview skills and then learning how to manage patient care during residency. The doctors, nurses and staff have provided a great environment for learning and teaching. I am very thankful to have spent so much time at LHRC.”
Pictured above: (seated – left to right) Residents, Dr. Marshall, Dr. Gallner and Dr. Hickert. (standing – left
to right) Dr. William Marcil, Dr. Hudson Hsieh, Rhonda Hawks, Dr. Jeana Benton, Dr. Syed Faiz Qadri and Dr. Shannon Kinnan
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Professional Spotlight -
Susan Feyen-Reay
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As a 20-year veteran in social work,
Susan Feyen-Reay
has contributed to the profession through her work in clinical practice, administrative programs and educational programs.
At the Grace Abbott School of Social Work at UNO, she helps future Nebraska social workers navigate their practicum experiences, and she is continuing her own education as a doctoral student in education at the College of Saint Mary. Susan is also coordinating the Nebraska System of Care training program and resources.
“Social work is a dynamic and flexible career,” said Feyen-Reay. “I enjoy learning from others’ experiences. Identifying the key ingredients that help individuals overcome challenges and assisting new practitioners to apply classroom knowledge to real-world settings is particularly rewarding.”
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Nebraska System of Care Website Offers Training Resources
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A System of Care (SOC) responds to the challenge many families face when they are involved in multiple systems with competing or conflicting goals. Within the SOC, systems such as education, mental health, juvenile justice, primary healthcare, and child welfare work together to assist families in moving forward towards a coordinated goal.
Systems of Care have demonstrated improved outcomes for youth and families throughout the United States while simultaneously increasing cost effectiveness of services. Moreover, service providers see an increase in individualized services, family involvement, and use of evidence-based practice.
Providers, students, and families can find numerous free training resources covering a wide variety of topics from introductions to the System of Care model to specific treatment considerations within a System of Care at the
SOC training website here.
Mandy Busch, MS, LMHP and Taira Masek, MS, LCSW have created a learning module to introduce
Nebraska’s System of Care
, highlighting examples from the state and local community. Learn more about the System of Care philosophy, core values, and guiding principles by exploring the
module here
.
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BHECN continues the four-part webinar series,
“Incorporating Sexuality & Gender Concepts into Mental Health Practice”
, presented by
Dr. Amanda Randall
and
Liam Heerten-Rodriguez
from the Grace Abbott School of Social Work at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
- March 13: Addressing the Needs of LGBTQA+ Clients (Part 3)
- 1 Social Work CEU is available upon completion of the evaluation.
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Statewide Virtual Learning Opportunity: Pain & Substance Use Disorder
ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is an opportunity for Nebraska providers to get specialist knowledge, clinical advice and recommendations from substance use and pain management specialists in a virtual learning network. Each ECHO call consists of a brief didactic presentation followed by a clinical case discussion from a provider and recommendations from the team for treatment.
How it works:
- Join an online video conference from your office
- Share and discuss clinical cases related to pain management and substance use disorders
- Learn from experts in pain management and substance use disorders
Who should participate: Any provider interested in more effectively treating clients and patients with pain management and substance use disorders. Continuing education credits are available.
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Upcoming
ECHO Calls
Pain Management:
Non–Pharmacological Interventions
Presented by
Dr. John Massey, Pain Medicine Specialist
When:
March 2, 12 - 1:15 p.m. (CDT)
via Zoom Videoconferencing
This presentation will focus on strategies that clinicians can use to reduce the patient’s reliance on opioid and other medications of abuse in the treatment of chronic pain.
Substance Use Disorder Treatment: Pharmacological Interventions
Presented by
Dr. Kenneth Zoucha, Addiction Medicine Specialist
When:
March 16, 12 - 1:15 p.m. (CDT)
via Zoom Videoconferencing
This didactic presentation will discuss pharmacological management of opioid use disorder primarily looking at both the agonist medications of methadone and buprenorphine and the antagonist medication, naltrexone.
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Other Training Opportunities:
Current Practices of Maternal Behavioral Health Conference – April 3, Lincoln, NE
Learn more about this conference
, hosted by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Registration deadline is March 23. Continuing education is available.
15th Annual Kent Estes Justice for All Conference – April 13, Kearney, NE
Understanding Substance Use Disorders
is a 2-hour, self-paced online course designed for undergraduate and graduate students, behavioral health and health providers, and social services professionals who do not have a background in addictions or want a refresher. Continuing education is available.
Learn more here.
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Annual Mentorship Dinner
BHECN Hosted the 9th Annual Mentorship Dinner in January, providing an opportunity for 120 students, trainees, faculty members, providers and community leaders from multiple behavioral health disciplines and backgrounds to meet and mingle.
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(Left to right; front row) Steve Wengel, M.D., Valery Tran, Maida Avdic, Karen Backus, Aileen Brady, MPA (back row) Emily Soener, PLCSW, Tracy Adams and Tammy Starling
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(left to right) Andrew Powell, Susan Feyen-Reay LICSW, Joe Evans, Ph.D., Jeanne Lincoln, Senator Sue Crawford
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Howard Liu, M.D.
, has been named the interim chair of the UNMC Department of Psychiatry.
Dr. Liu, who has been at UNMC for eight years, is a nationally recognized educator, behavioral health workforce expert and practicing child psychiatrist. During his time at UNMC, he has served as the assistant vice chancellor for faculty development, and he will continue as the director of the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska.
Read more.
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Dr. Howard Liu
presented
“The Doctor Won’t See You Now: Emerging Solutions to the Shortage of Diverse BH Providers” keynote at the
2018 Minority Health Disparities Initiative Conference in Lincoln
this February.
“The state of Nebraska has urgent needs for a culturally and linguistically skilled workforce,” Dr. Liu commented. “It was a pleasure to engage with state, community, academic and research partners to share best practices in building that pipeline.”
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Got Interns?
A well-structured and engaging internship program can energize your organization! We offer all the resources you need to create or refresh your internship program. The Internship Toolkit includes a number of tools to help you get started, including:
- Internship guidelines and policies
- Sample job description and application
- Recruitment and interview strategies
- Orientation ideas
- Sample evaluation
- Providing a successful internship program can lead to a successful recruitment program.
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The Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska (BHECN), pronounced “beacon”, was established in 2009 by a legislative bill to address the shortage of behavioral health professionals in rural and underserved areas of the state. It is a unique partnership among the state legislature, academic institutions, and community partners
to create a statewide workforce solution to increase the number of licensed behavioral health professionals.
View our video to learn more about our mission, programs and initiatives.
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