Meghan Sheehan, MD, received a $3,000 grant from the Nebraska Medicine Guild to develop her Beyond the Blowback program.
The program will support victims of gang violence who have persistent psychiatric and medical needs.
“I have a longstanding interest in this population, and have seen repeatedly that when we move past dismissing these points as difficult and antisocial, we can really help them psychiatrically, which in turn helps lead to better results with their other medical issues as well,” said Dr. Sheehan.
Dr. Sheehan, who completed residency and fellowship in CL Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, will work with Charity Evans, MD, a UNMC trauma surgeon.
“Dr. Evans shares my passion for helping this neglected population. She and the trauma team will help to identify patients in this demographic for initial outreach efforts,” said Dr. Sheehan. “One of my CL mentors at UNC is a trauma surgeon turned CL psychiatrist and ethicist. His influence and his mentorship is part of why I am so passionate about ICU psychiatry and ethics. This program is a great area for collaboration for a CL psychiatrist and trauma surgeon.”
Dr. Ashish Sharma, Inpatient Medical Director for the Department of Psychiatry, said the grant is amazing news.
“Dr. Sheehan always works hard and looks out for what’s good for our patients,” Dr. Sharma said.
The funds will be available until June 30, 2021. Dr. Sheehan sees the program continuing past next spring.
“I expect that this program will continue to evolve, especially with the ever-changing demands of the pandemic, and the receipt of this grant will help me to meet the needs of our community better,” she said.
Awesome endeavor