Nebraska Medicine officials say they will close their inpatient burn unit at UNMC on September 4. Patients who sustain serious burns will be sent to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Lincoln, the region's only verified burn center.
St. Elizabeth is one of 66 burn centers in the United States verified by the American College of Surgeons and the American Burn Association. Each year, the 16-bed center helps nearly 500 burn patients from a six-state area.
Nebraska Medicine will continue to care for burn patients in its outpatient clinic, 24/7 trauma center and on their Medical Surgical unit for patients with burns covering 10 percent or less of the body surface.
“This decision was made after much careful research and discussion,” said Nebraska Medicine Chief Medical Officer Harris Frankel, MD. “As we transition away from inpatient burn treatment, residents of the Omaha Metro can be assured that our emergency and trauma response for burn patients will be as strong as ever, as will our outpatient clinic care. We’ll work closely with the staff at St. Elizabeth to make sure burn patients receive the right care in the right center.”
This collaboration between CHI Health and Nebraska Medicine will eliminate the duplication of the highly specialized service. Nebraska Medicine sees an average of 100 burn patients a year in its unit. Consolidating inpatient care to one burn unit lowers the overall cost of care for patients and employers, while still ensuring patients have access to high-quality care.
“The team of highly skilled and specially trained physicians, nurses and therapists welcome the opportunity to care for more burn patients.” Cary Ward, CHI Health Chief Medical Officer said. “This collaboration is a perfect illustration of how health systems are working together to reduce costs and improve quality of care through specialization”