LaShannon Bland knew heart trouble ran in his family. But at age 27, he did not think his heart would start giving out.

“I started feeling tired, short of breath, and felt my heart rhythm was bad,” Bland, now 32 said. “I came to the emergency room thinking I was having an asthma attack. They told me it was heart failure.”

Bland began working closely with heart failure specialist Ioana Dumitru, MD.

“We started him on heart failure medicine,” Dr. Dumitru said. “Unfortunately, his heart didn’t respond. The next step was to implant a left ventricular assist device (LVAD).”

Even with the help of the LVAD, a mechanical device that does much of the heart’s work, Bland’s heart was still failing. Transplant was the only other option.

“I went on the transplant list in January,” he recalled. “A week later, I got the call. February 3rd, 3:00 AM.”

Bland was the 100th heart transplant recipient at the medical center.

“LaShannon did very well in surgery,” said John Um, MD, heart transplant surgeon at The Nebraska Medical Center. “He had a strong recovery and is doing very well now that he’s out of the hospital.”

Bland is deeply grateful for his donor.

“It’s really more than words can express. I really want to thank them, their family, and everyone who had a part in keeping me going,” he said. “It’s my second chance. I feel sad that someone had to leave this earth to keep me on it. My love and my heart goes out to them and their family.”

Bland doesn’t spend much time thinking about being the 100th heart transplant recipient. He’s looking forward to being the father to his three kids he could not be when he was sick. He looks forward to simple things like running with his daughter or playing basketball with his son.

“This milestone, 102 transplants in six years is a great credit to The Nebraska Medical Center and UNMC staff members who work so closely with the patients,” said Jorge Parodi, executive director of cardiovascular services.

Bland feels a special connection to the medical center. Not just for the cardiology and transplant teams, but for the institution as a whole.

“I was born here,” he said. “My first life started here, and my second life started here too.”

New center would elevate Nebraska’s role in cancer care and research

Leaders from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, announced today preliminary plans for a new cancer center at the medical center’s Omaha campus. The cancer center would house research facilities, a multidisciplinary outpatient treatment center and clinic, and a new hospital tower. Medical center leaders call it the largest project ever proposed here.

“We have some of the leading cancer experts in the world right here at this medical center,” said Glenn A. Fosdick, president and CEO of The Nebraska Medical Center. “This project takes that commitment to the next level. Having all of our experts, patient care areas and research in one location is more convenient for patients and will allow medical teams to collaborate on patient care and the development of new treatment options.”

“This is a transformational project for all Nebraskans,” said UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D. “These facilities will elevate our cancer services, enhance our educational programs and provide a central location and synergy that not only will benefit our clinicians and researchers but most importantly, patients.”

The new cancer center would be built on the west side of the medical center campus. While details of the project are still being reviewed, plans call for three facilities – a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic, a 98-lab research tower, and a hospital tower with 108 beds dedicated to oncology patients.

In addition to the cancer center, project plans also call for construction of a fourth building – an ambulatory care clinic – to be built near 42nd and Farnam streets. This building would provide outpatient clinic space for the medical center’s various programs outside of cancer.

The new cancer center does not have an official name yet. Medical center officials refer to it as the Cancer Center Project. The best layout of the three structures in the Cancer Center Project is still being studied and will be announced as more details come into focus.

Building the new project will require the demolition of Swanson Hall and the parking structure to its south. New parking structures are part of the design for the new cancer center. The project does not call for any expansion west of Saddle Creek Road. Swanson Hall was built in 1948 (as Children’s hospital) and currently houses offices for UNMC physicians, staff and researchers. No patient care is provided there.

Comprehensive Cancer Care

The National Cancer Institute has given just 40 cancer centers in the United States the comprehensive designation. This new facility would be built with the goal of including UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center in that prestigious group by the year 2020.

“This kind of single-site facility is the future of cancer care and research,” said Ken Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., medical director of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center and oncologist at The Nebraska Medical Center. “Very few academic medical centers are positioned this well geographically and programmatically. We can provide an all-encompassing cancer center with great access, and more importantly, outstanding care and expertise.”

Economic Impact

An economic impact study is being done as part of the proposal for the cancer center project. Medical center leaders expect the impact on the local economy to be profound with the project creating an estimated 1,200 new jobs by 2020 with an infusion of $100 million annually to Nebraska’s economy.

“This is a very collaborative effort to bring a sizable amount of economic development to our community and state,” said Michael Yanney, local businessman and chairman of the UNMC committee for Campaign for Nebraska, the University of Nebraska Foundation’s comprehensive fundraising campaign. “It will make the city and region a major player in cancer treatment and research.” More than 85 percent of the project’s costs are expected to come from private funds.

Cost and Construction

A project of this size and scope will require a significant amount of time and money. The exact cost of the project has not yet been determined. Estimates at this early stage in the proposal indicate the project would cost around $370 million. No construction date has been set. Funding sources are still being sought, including $50 million from the state of Nebraska to support the construction of the cancer research tower.

“Nebraska has an opportunity to make an investment now that will serve the people of the state well into the future,” said James B. Milliken, president of the University of Nebraska. “Education and job creation are high priorities for Nebraska, and our proposal advances both. We are delighted that our partners in the Legislature are joining us to help build a stronger, more competitive Nebraska – which is a central part of our mission as the state’s only public university. This is an excellent example of how the public, education and private sectors can work together for the betterment of the state.”

“This is an investment in the future,” Fosdick said. “This proposed project would ensure we maintain our current standing as a nationally recognized cancer care provider and allow us to organize ourselves in a new way that would ensure our cancer care is second to none nationally.”

“These new facilities will elevate Nebraska’s status as an international leader in health science and health care,” Dr. Maurer said. “Most of the current comprehensive cancer centers are on the east or west coast. There is a real need for a complex like this here.”

“The concept of seizure freedom has become the expectation instead of a hopeless dream.” – Deepak Madhavan, M.D.

People often ask Dr. Deepak Madhavan, Director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at the Nebraska Medical Center why he became an epileptologist, or what it is that makes him so very passionate about his work. “I think that the answers to these questions are similar. I feel that in doing my job, I can help make people better. Epilepsy is a disease that can be so crippling to a person’s life, leading to loss of driving privileges, missed work and school days, and just overall difficulties with some of the life activities that most people take for granted.”

It is estimated that seizures and epilepsy affect approximately 1% of the world’s population, making it one of the most common neurological disorders.  This means that in the Middle East and North African countries, with a population of about 381 million people, over 3.8 million people could suffer from seizures and epilepsy. With limited number of institutions offering the latest treatment options to their patients in some of these countries, many millions of patients are denied epilepsy treatment and seizure-free lives.

Advances in modern epilepsy treatment, both medical and surgical, have come a long way over the last several years. The concept of seizure-freedom has become the norm rather than a hopeless dream. “It is incredibly rewarding for me to see a person achieve seizure-freedom, and return to school, work or society with newfound confidence and security that their seizures are under control, “says Dr. Madhavan.

The Nebraska Medical Center (TNMC) in Omaha, Nebraska provides advanced treatment for patients and offers specialized training programs for international healthcare professionals to combat this serious ailment. At its Level- 4 epilepsy center, it offers the most advanced medical and surgical treatments and diagnostic measures for epilepsy, for both adults and children. Its well trained and dedicated team offers comprehensive epilepsy care for people with even the toughest seizure disorders. With advanced tools and technology such as Magnetoencephalography (MEG), they are able to noninvasively diagnose and localize many types of epilepsy that eluded treatment in previous eras.

TNMC provides epilepsy therapies to patients that were not available in the region even as recently as two years ago, with a large number of those involving multiple-stage approaches, where intracranial EEG electrodes are placed for the most precise localization and resection of epileptic tissue. They also provide other surgical services, including Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS) implantation, and more traditional epilepsy surgeries such as Temporal Lobectomy.  Availability of implantable brain stimulators and drug delivery devices are on the horizon.

In addition to the advanced medical and surgical treatments for epilepsy, the experts at TNMC specifically focus on the effects of general wellness on seizure control. It may be surprising, but factors like diet, stress management and getting a good night’s sleep can be effective added therapies for the control of seizures.  Dr. Madhavan explains, “Our patients enjoy a comprehensive approach to their epilepsy, where their mood, sleep, and social situation are seen as critical factors in their overall well-being.  In essence, it is not enough for us to stop seizures, but we make it our mission to enhance a patient’s   self-worth in the society”.

“The Nebraska Medical Center treats patients from many countries and has a successful history of being an international resource for cancer-care and transplantation. For international patients with epilepsy, we prioritize the diagnostic and treatment methods to make their visits as effective and comprehensive as possible. We offer personalized care for patients and their families, with on-going accessibility to epilepsy center staff and personnel, as well as full-time Arabic-speaking staff to assist patients around the clock”, says Nizar Mamdani, Executive Director of the International Healthcare at TNMC.

TNMC has affiliations with 121 healthcare facilities in 44 countries and is well known for its personalized healthcare training programs for its international partners. “We offer outstanding customized training programs in epilepsy and seizures; cancer-care and transplantation; pathology and pharmacy and healthcare management programs for international healthcare professionals, so that they may in-turn, offer outstanding treatment options to their patients at their own hospitals. These training programs are offered both at our institution in Nebraska as well as at our international partner’s facilities”, explains Mamdani.  For additional information contact, nmamdani@nebraskamed.com and visit www.unmc.edu/international.

Program helps Saudi Arabian health professionals enhance skills

by Lisa Spellman, UNMC public relations
December 06, 2011

It’s the genuine kindness in the people she’s met since coming to UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center (TNMC) in January that impresses Nawar Alabdulqader the most.

“The people here are so nice, helpful and respectful,” said the medical technologist from King Fahd Specialist Hospital in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

From left: Hisham Bukhamseen, training in pharmacy; Mohammed Alomar, Ph.D., assistant cultural attache for academic affairs with the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission; Mai Alshamlan, training in pathology; Nawar Alabdulqader, training in pathology; Dana El-Hajjar, a molecular lab technologist training in pathology; and Farid Awanes Tashjian, senior adviser of medical residency programs for the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission.

From her shortened work hours during the month of August so Nawar could observe Ramadan, to colleagues who guided her step by step from the labs at the Munroe-Meyer Institute to the cafeteria, her colleagues helped her feel at home.

A special partnership

Nawar is one of 29 health care providers from Saudi Arabia who received training through a program developed by Nizar Mamdani, executive director of International Healthcare Services at The Nebraska Medical Center.

She was able to come to Omaha through the International Strategic Partnership training program. The program has helped more than 147 health care professionals learn from medical experts at The Nebraska Medical Center and UNMC faculty.

Since January, Nawar has honed her skills in medical technology and molecular diagnostics. Before she leaves this month, Nawar will take the membership exam for the American Society of Pathology.

Program lauded

The success of the program was recognized at a recent luncheon where Mamdani signed a memorandum of understanding with representatives from the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission, Mohammed A. Alomar, Ph.D., assistant cultural attache for academic affairs, and Farid Awanes Tashjian, senior adviser of medical residency programs.

The approach to customized international health care professional training and education is designed to give international organizations a competitive edge and improve patient outcomes at these institutions.

A new perspective

For Nawar the experience has not only enhanced her medical training, but given her new insight into American culture and Midwestern hospitality.

“Everything I’ve learned, the techniques, teamwork and exceptional quality, I will take back and pass along to others at my hospital,” she said.