Omaha AHEC Quarterly Newsletter |
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- In the Spotlight: Welcome Our 1st Year AHEC Scholars!
- AHEC Scholars Workshop Overview
- Upcoming Events
- 2023 Pre-Health Symposium (3/29/23) Registration Now Open
- January: One Health Month
- February: Go Red!
- March: Tuberculosis Awareness Month
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In the Spotlight: Join us in Welcoming Our 1st Year AHEC Scholars! |
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Elisha Muhleka Springfield, NE
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Community Health
Clarkson College
Aug. 2025
Elisha is in the Community Health program at Clarkson College and is interested in a career involving public health policy.
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Kylie Sestak St. Paul, NE
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Dentistry
UNMC - College of Dentistry
May 2024
Kylie is a third-year Dental student at UNMC's College of Dentistry. She intends on pursuing a degree in periodontology and aspires to expand Nebraska's access to healthcare.
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Josseline Vasquez El Salvador
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Radiologic Technology
UNMC - College of Allied Health
May 2024
Josseline is in the Radiography program at UNMC's College of Allied Health. She intends on getting her post-Baccalaureate professional certification in Radiation Therapy.
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Lindsey Allin Lee's Summit, MO
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Physician Assistant
UNMC - College of Allied Health
Dec. 2024
Lindsey is Physician Assistant student at UNMC. She is interested in Emergency Medicine or Cardiothoracic surgery.
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Miranga Jangula Council Bluffs, IA
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M.D.
UNMC - College of Medicine
May 2024
Miranda is a Medical student at UNMC. She is an aspiring physician and is interested in primary care and family medicine.
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Dentistry
UNMC - College of Dentistry
May 2025
Anna is a Dental student at UNMC. Anna hopes to provide access to quality dental care to all populations while representing and helping to advance Black women in healthcare.
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Community Health
Clarkson College
May 2024
Aubrie is in the Community Health program at Clarkson College and has worked with vulnerable populations for 9 years, including individuals with Multiple Sclerosis. Her goal is to grow in her understanding on how to better serve and empower these individuals.
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Lauren Thompson Omaha, NE
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Physical Therapy
UNMC - College of Allied Health
May 2025
Lauren is a Physical Therapy student at UNMC's College of Allied Health. Lauren hasn't decided on a specialty yet, but she would like to stay in the Omaha area upon graduation.
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Physician Assistant
UNMC - College of Allied Health
Dec. 2024
Jacob is a Physician Assistant student at UNMC. He is considering in working in Dermatology or Plastic Surgery, but he is keeping an open mind.
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M.D.
UNMC - College of Medicine
Dec. 2023
Mark is a third-year Medical student at UNMC. He hopes to pursue a residency in Family Medicine upon graduating, and he has an interest in Sports Medicine, Geriatrics, and urban underserved healthcare.
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Tia DiGiovanni Lincoln, NE
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Dentistry
UNMC - College of Dentistry
May 2024
Tia is a third-year Dental student at UNMC. She aspires to become an orthodontist so that she can provide functional and beautiful smiles in her community and in surrounding areas in need.
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M.D.
UNMC - College of Medicine
May 2025
Dustin is a student at UNMC's College of Medicine. He hopes to become a family medicine physician and remain in the Omaha area. His goal is to make a positive impact in the lives of his patients.
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Dentistry
UNMC - College of Dentistry
May 2025
Emily is a second-year dental student at UNMC's College of Dentistry. She grew up on a farm in Hoople, North Dakota, and her plan after graduation is to practice general dentistry in rural North Dakota or Minnesota.
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Christopher Griffis Adel, GA
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Physician Assistant
UNMC - College of Allied Health
May 2024
Christopher is a first-year physician assistant student at UNMC's College of Allied Health. Prior to attending the PA program at UNMC, Christopher was an Athletic Trainer at Yulee High School in Florida.
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Karyssa Richardson Dunbar, NE
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Physician
UNMC - College of Medicine
May 2025
Karyssa is a third year medical student at UNMC's College of Medicine. Karyssa aims to become triple board certified in general pediatrics, adult psychiatry, and child psychology.
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Omaha AHEC Scholars Workshop Overview |
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This December, first year AHEC scholars had the opportunity to attend a virtual panel with healthcare professionals from One World. One World is a federally qualified health center (FQHC). Federally Qualified Health Centers are important safety net providers in rural and urban underserved areas because they:
- Offer services to all, regardless of the person's ability to pay
- Establish a sliding fee discount program
- Are community-based
- Serve a Medically Underserved Area or Population
- Provide comprehensive primary care services
Panelists included:
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Brian Penly, D.D.S
Dental Director
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Coleen Schrage, RPh, Pharm.D.
Pharmacy Director
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Cody Thorson, PA-C
Primary Care Practitioner
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Melanie Menning, M.D.
Family Medicine & Association Medical Director
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The virtual panel focused on two main topics: Social Determinants of Health, and Cultural Competency.
Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the conditions of the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks (Healthy People 2030). SDOHs and other barriers mentioned included insurance/cost, language, health literacy, housing, and immigration status. When asked what students can do as future providers in order to stay educated on the issues their patients may face, Dr. Menning, M.D. said “My biggest advice is to make social work your best friend because as a provider it is really hard to stay up to date. Our social workers have an Excel where they keep all of this up to date. They will share that, but your plate will often be too full and that means you need the team to help with a lot of these.”
Teamwork played an important role throughout the panel, especially when it comes to cultural competency. Cultural competency is the ability to understand, appreciate and interact with people from cultures or belief systems different from one's own (American Psychological Association). Dr. Brian Penly, D.D.S. notes that cultural competency is best learned by expanding your social circle and learning from others. Cultural competency, according to Dr. Penly, "doesn’t have to start in a healthcare clinic." He encourages students to "start where you are right now. Befriend others who aren’t like you.... Go outside your comfort zone and be open to new ideas."
If you are interested in becoming part of the Nebraska AHEC Scholars Program, keep an eye out for applications announced in this newsletter over the summer!
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2023 Pre-Health Symposium
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Undergraduate and high school pre-health students are welcome to join us at the 2023 Pre-Health Symposium on Wednesday, March 29th from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm! We've partnered with the HCRC invited healthcare professionals and programs to meet with future and current students, alumni, and those interested in a career in healthcare. Anyone and everyone are welcome to attend! |
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January: One Health Awareness Month |
One Health Awareness Month emphasizes the connections between the health of humans, animals, and the environment. One Health is a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary global effort with the goal of reaching better health outcomes. One Health focuses on building awareness of zoonotic diseases and how they are spread.
Awareness Focuses Include:
- Antimicrobial resistance
- Food safety
- Food security
- Vector-borne diseases
- Environmental contamination
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February is American Heart Month!
The Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention is shining a light on hypertension (high blood pressure), a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke. The Division is committed to addressing barriers to health equity in communities disproportionately affected by cardiovascular disease. Learn more here!
Wear red on Feb. 7th to show your support!
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March: Tuberculosis Awareness Month |
Anyone can get Tuberculosis. However, the CDC notes that some people are at greater risk of TB than others. This is because some population groups have higher rates of TB disease in their communities due to a range of social, economic, and demographic factors that can affect a person’s risk of contracting TB. According to the CDC, "The percentage of TB cases that occur in Hispanic or Latino, Black or African American, and Asian persons is higher than expected based on the percentage of these populations in the U.S. population. In 2021, 88.1% of the TB cases reported in the United States occurred among racial and ethnic minority groups."
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Follow us on social media @omaha.ahec! |
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This program is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U77HP21499. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. |
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