As Madonna Rehab Hospitals holds grand opening of its new Omaha campus, controversy still swirls around new UNMC PM&R chairman's troubled past in Texas

A little over two years after breaking ground on Sept. 4, 2014, construction on Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals new $93 million campus in Omaha is now officially completed, and the hospital is ready for business.

Madonna's grand opening celebration on Thursday kicked off with
only one glitch on Thursday: How will they address UNMC
founding PM&R chairman Dr. Samuel Bierner's (seen on
the left) scandalous past?

So hospital officials hosted a private grand opening event and ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday for the Omaha metro area's first and only hospital dedicated entirely to rehab care at its newest location across from the Village Pointe Shopping Center at 17500 Burke Street, located just south of 175th and Dodge.

Self-guided tours were provided to former patients, Madonna staff, and state and local dignitaries who attended the grand opening event on Thursday morning.

Just before the ground breaking on the new facilities in 2014, Madonna Rehabilitation Specialty Hospital opened a 32-bed unit on the fourth floor of Nebraska Medicine-Bellevue to address the acute inpatient rehab needs of hospitalized patients with complex medical conditions who were ready to be discharged from the hospital but not quite ready to take care of themselves at home.

Madonna plans on merging the 32-bed unit at Bellevue into its new campus after the Omaha campus officially opens.

Texas Medical Board investigation about Kowalske, Bierner, Gabriel, Hudak, and Knapton by Michel Schwalbe

Dr. Amy McGaha named new chairwoman of Creighton's family medicine department

Dr. Amy McGaha of Creighton  University

On Friday, Creighton University School of Medicine's family medicine department promoted its residency program director, Dr. Amy McGaha, M.D., to the post of chairwoman of the department.

McGaha's appointment becomes effective October 1 and is subject to approval by the Creighton University Board of Regents.

She also serves on the regional board of CHI Health and the combined CUMC Bergan Medical Executive Committee.

Before coming to Creighton, McGaha previously served on the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine and as assistant director of medical education for the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) in Leawood, Kansas, the professional certification board for family physicians.

Prior to those appointments, Dr. McGaha provided inpatient and outpatient care for Freeman Health Systems in Missouri.

Dr. Michael Wadman named new chairman of UNMC's emergency medicine department

UNMC's new chairman of ER, Dr. Michael Wadman

Yesterday, the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) named Dr.Michael Wadman, M.D. as their new chairman of the medical center's emergency medicine department. 

According to university officials, Dr. Wadman has been a key figure in the UNMC/Nebraska Medicine emergency medicine program for more than 20 years.

The appointment, which is subject to approval by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, was announced by Dr. Bradley Britigan, dean of the UNMC College of Medicine, and would become effective Oct. 15.

"Dr. Wadman was selected from a very competitive, highly talented pool of applicants," said Dr. Britigan. “He is an outstanding clinician who is also committed to achieving excellence in our education and research missions. At a time when major changes are taking place in emergency medicine in our community, his knowledge of the local emergency medicine environment is also a major plus."

Wadman joined UNMC's faculty back in 1994 as an assistant professor. He became an associate professor in 2004 and full professor in 2014. In 2003, he was the founding residency director of UNMC’s emergency medicine residency program, a role he served in for more than seven years.

Exclusive: UNMC's new chairman of PM&R has a dark, troubled history of Medicare fraud, patient endangerment, and medical board investigations

The September 2016 issue of Strictly Business featuring the new Madonna Rehab Hospital set to open in October 2016

Links and References have been updated!

Last February, we covered a story about the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) creating a new physical medicine & rehabilitation (PM&R) program at the Nebraska Medical Center.

UNMC's newly appointed founding chairman of their newly
created physical medicine & rehabilitation program, Samuel
Bierner, has a dark, shady, and very troubling history with
Medicare fraud, patient safety issues, and investigations
from the Texas Medical Board, according to the public
record, including Dallas' leading daily newspaper

PM&R, or physiatry as it is also known as, is a rather obscure and relatively unknown medical specialty that cares for patients with disabling conditions, including traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, strokes, neurological impairments, and musculoskeletal problems, who are medically stable, but otherwise have some therapeutic, equipment, or other prosthetic needs to take care of themselves after being discharged from the hospital.

In essence, it's a field of medicine that doesn't deal in urgent life or death matters like most other medical specialties, which may explain why it's relatively obscure and unknown to most people in the first place.

In that article, UNMC officials announced they had selected a Dallas-based physiatrist, Dr. Samuel Michael Bierner, as the new founding chairman of UNMC's new PM&R program in Omaha, Nebraska.

Bierner has more than 25 years experience in physiatry and had previously served as the residency director of the PM&R program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas (UTSW) since 2005 and medical director of Parkland Memorial Hospital's PM&R department with what appeared to be a immaculate record; however, we were given an anonymous news tip that there was more than meets the eye to Dr. Bierner's past than he had revealed to UNMC officials when he landed the prestigious job to head their fledgling PM&R program back in February.

Unbeknownst to UNMC officials, the new chairman of their PM&R department was charged in 2012 by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) in a federal court in the Northern District of Texas of conspiring with four other fellow UT Southwestern PM&R faculty members of defrauding federal and state programs with "thousands" of false billings to Medicare and Medicaid that endangered the lives of patients, and later, he made false statements to the medical board saying he was "exonerated of all the charges of fraud" when in fact he wasn't.

U.S.A., ex rel John Doe v. Parkland, Samuel Bierner, Karen Kowalske, Vincent Gabriel, Anne Hudak, and Susan... by Michel Schwalbe

New undergraduate college program puts UNO undergrads on affirmative action path to UNMC College of Medicine

Minority undergraduate students at UNO are being fast-tracked to UNMC College of Medicine,
but it's not an 'affirmative action program' according to UNO and UNMC officials.

The Urban Health Opportunities Program provides tuition, mentoring, and other benefits to undergraduate students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha who want to be doctors in Omaha, especially in the underserved northeast and southeast areas of Omaha.

Undergrads enrolled in the Urban Health Opportunities Program at UNO
are mentored and fast-tracked into UNMC College of Medicine as a way
to avoid the label of being part of an 'affirmative action program'

Those who satisfy program requirements will get into medical school at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The program is a way to increase diversity among doctors in the region.

While program officials say this isn’t affirmative action, it is nonetheless an effort to introduce more minorities into the medical field, especially those who can speak foreign languages and who have a passion for working in low-income communities.

This is about improving access to health care for many in the community and not about meeting quotas, said Dr. Jeff Hill, associate dean of admissions and student affairs at the UNMC College of Medicine.

Hill said minorities make up only about 10 percent of the first-year class in the College of Medicine this semester. Currently 13 undergraduate students representing all four classes are taking part in the program, which began this year. Three freshmen will join the program each year.

Nebraska Medical Center again tops list of the state's top hospitals, according to U.S. News & World Reports

The Nebraska Medical Center again tops the state's top hospitals, according to U.S. News & World Reports

The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) at Omaha has again been named the top-ranked hospital in the state by the U.S. News & World Report survey.

UNMC also received high ratings in eight medical specialties:

• cancer
• gastroenterology and GI surgery
• geriatrics
• gynecology
• nephrology
• neurology and neurosurgery 
• pulmonology
• urology

“To again be named the best hospital in the state is a testament to the people who work for this organization and their continued dedication and passion,” said Dr. Dan DeBehenke, of Nebraska Medicine, in a press release. 

UNMC pathologist Thomas Williams named Nebraska’s top public health official

Pathologist Dr. Thomas Williams

A local Omaha pathologist has been chosen to serve as Nebraska’s next top public health official.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts announced the appointment of Dr. Thomas L. Williams as the state’s next chief medical officer and director of the state’s Division of Public Health. The appointment comes more than a year after the resignation of Dr. Joseph Acierno.

A blue ribbon panel comprising of the Governor’s Office and Courtney Phillips, director of the Department of Health and Human Services, interviewed nearly two dozen candidates for the job.

“Williams stood out ... because of his wide-ranging experience and heart for public service,” Gov. Ricketts said.

Williams currently directs laboratory medicine and is the chairman of the pathology department at Methodist Hospital in Omaha. He also teaches pathology as a professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) College of Medicine.

Samuel Bierner named to head new physical medicine & rehabilitation program at UNMC

Dr. Samuel Bierner to head new PM&R department at UNMC at Omaha 

Dr. Samuel Michael Bierner, M.D., a Texas physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) physician or physiatrist as they are more commonly known as, has been selected as the founding chairman of the new PM&R program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMBC) at Omaha. (See www.unmc.edu). 

Dr. Bradley Britigan, Dean of the UNMC
College of Medicine on appointing the
founding chairman for the UNMC's
newest PM&R department

The announcement came yesterday from Dr. Bradley Britigan, M.D., dean of the UNMC College of Medicine at Omaha, pending the approval of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.

His appointment on March 1, 2016 marks the end of a nationwide search for the position of the new chairmanship for the new fledgling department at UNMC. Dr. Bierner’s appointment is effective April 1, 2016.

"The biggest attraction for me to come to Nebraska is to be a part of establishing a brand new program at UNMC," Dr. Bierner said. "It's a great opportunity for me to have an impact that would put a capstone on my career."

Dr. Bierner has more than 25 years of experience in the specialty of PM&R, which in recent years has been given the unflattering nickname of "Pleasure, Money & Relaxation" by other more serious disciplines in medicine.

PM&R is a relatively unknown medical specialty that cares for adults and children who experience disabling medical conditions such as traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and impairments from stroke, musculoskeletal and neurological diseases. 

5 U.S. aid workers monitored and quarantined for Ebola in Omaha released

The Ebola outbreak continues to ravage West Africa 

Five American aid workers being observed and monitored at the Biocontainment Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha, Nebraska for exposure to the deadly Ebola virus have completed their quarantine periods free from symptoms of the deadly virus and have been released.

The biocontainment Unit at UNMC

Nebraska Medical Center spokesman Taylor Wilson said Tuesday that four of the individuals who were brought to Omaha earlier this month for monitoring have already left the area. 

The fifth, who developed a heart problem Saturday and required CPR, has now been discharged from the hospital and will soon also leave Omaha.

The U.S. health care missionary workers were exposed to Ebola in Sierra Leone in West Africa when one of their colleagues became ill with the deadly virus. 

They were staying on the Nebraska Medical Center's campus while in quarantine. Ebola has a 21-day incubation period before showing signs and symptoms of an infection.

Patient exposed to the Ebola virus hospitalized in Omaha

Another American exposed to Ebola is brought to UNMC for quarantine and treatment in Omaha, NE 

An American health worker exposed to the Ebola virus while working in Sierra Leone, Africa arrived in Omaha, NE Sunday and is now being monitored at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in its level-four biohazard containment unit on campus.

Safety measures taken 'out of an abundance of caution' in transporting patients
exposed to the Ebola virus in West Africa at Epply Airfield in Omaha

Paramedics were taking no chances in handling the patient so they were wearing full-body protective gear akin to a NASA space suit as they took an Ebola patient, who has not been identified, by ambulance from a plane that arrived at Eppley Airfield around 1:45 p.m. to the hospital, which has a specialized biocontainment unit.

"I can't comment on if the patient does or doesn't have any kind of symptoms at this point, but I can say the crew inside the biocontainment unit, the crew that received the patient at the airport, is treating this patient as if he or she does have the virus, just out of an abundance of caution," said UNMC spokesman Taylor Wilson.

“This patient has been exposed to the virus, but is not ill and is not contagious,” said Dr. Phil Smith, medical director of the level-4 biocontainment unit. “However, we will be taking all appropriate precautions. This patient will be under observation in the same room used for treatment of the first three patients and will be carefully monitored to see if Ebola disease develops.”

UNMC's third Ebola patient, Dr. Martin Salia, dies in Omaha

Dr. Martin Salia of Sierra Leone succumbed to the Ebola virus on Monday morning 

A West African surgeon, who contracted the deadly Ebola virus in his native Sierra Leone and was flown to Omaha for treatment, received aggressive treatment at University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) over the weekend but died Monday morning.

The medical director of UNMC's Biocontainment Unit did not have good news
to report on Monday when Dr. Martin Salia succumbed to Ebola virus

Dr. Martin Salia's death is a reminder of just how deadly the Ebola virus is and how important it is to receive treatment as soon as possible, said Dr. Jeff Gold, chancellor of the UNMC in Omaha.

"In the very advanced stages, even the modern techniques we have at our disposal are not enough to help these patients once they reach a critical threshold," Gold said at a news conference announcing the medical center’s first fatality from Ebola.

Salia, 44, was diagnosed with the virus Nov. 6, 2014. By the time he was flown to Omaha for treatment on Saturday, he was in already in an advanced stages of shock in critical condition with no kidney function and in severe respiratory distress.

He was placed on dialysis and intubated on a ventilator, and was given several supportive medications to support his failing organ systems, the hospital said in a statement. 

The second patient treated for Ebola at the UNMC in Omaha has been released after testing negative for the virus

NBC News videographer Ashoka Mukpo on assignment

The second patient treated for an Ebola at the University of Nebraska Medical Center's Biocontainment Unit in Omaha has been released after testing negative for the virus in two consecutive blood tests over 24 hours.

NBC News cameraman and Ebola survivor Ashoka Mukpo ready to leave
UNMC to go home after a two-week ordeal recovering from the Ebola virus

Ashoka Mukpo was working as a free-lance videographer for NBC News in Liberia when he contracted the deadly Ebola virus earlier this month. After his diagnosis, Mukpo was transported via jet to UNMC's Biocontainment Unit for quarantine and treatment. 

He was released Wednesday afternoon after about two weeks of treatment at the hospital’s Level-4 Biocontainment Unit.

Mukpo bounced back quicker and was in the hospital five fewer days than Dr. Richard Sacra, the first U.S. Ebola patient to be treated at UNMC.

Mukpo received the same basic treatment as Sacra, but was able to take an experimental drug against Ebola in pill form, where as Sacra needed an IV. There still is no cure to the deadly Ebola virus, which can have a mortality rate of up to 90 percent in those infected who are left untreated.

At a news conference, Dr. Phil Smith, medical director of UNMC's Biocontainment Unit, who treated both men’s treatment, said with each case treated at UNMC, the medical community gains valuable insight and information about how to deal with the deadly Ebola virus.