Medical Homes in Nebraska

Medical Home Initiatives
This section provides information on state medical home initiatives/programs.

IIn 2009, the Boys Town Institute for Child Health Improvement, in partnership with the Nebraska Title V agencies and the Family to Family Health Information Center, launched a statewide Medical Home Learning Collaborative. Eleven practices have been selected to assemble a practice-based quality improvement team consisting of physicians, nurses, office managers and parents of children with special health care needs. These teams will attend 3 Learning Sessions over the course of the next year and a half, during which they will receive training on how to engage their practice in change that will result in improved health outcomes for children and increased satisfaction with the care received as reported by families.

NE Medical Home Learning Collaborative contact:

Name: Amy Gibson, MS, RN, Assistant Director
Address: 14100 Crawford, Boys Town, NE 68010
Phone: 402/498-1321 E-mail: gibsona@boystown.org

Nebraska Medical Home Contact:

Name: Ginger Goomis- Medically Handicapped Children's Program
Phone: 402/471-9185 | E-mail: ginger.goomis@nebraska.gov

Name: Joni Thomas - Unit Manager
E-mail: joni.thomas@dhhs.ne.gov

Related Grant Initiatives
This section provides information on current state grants that are working on medical home initiatives. This includes the grant abstract as well as key contacts for the grant.

Integrated Services for Children with Special Health Care Needs Grant – The Nebraska Integrated System of Care for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (NISOC)
Grantee: Father Flanagan's Boys' Home
Grant Period: June 1, 2008 to May 31, 2011
Abstract -

Through partnership with Nebraska’s Title V programs, including the Nebraska Medically Handicapped Children’s Program, and the Nebraska Family-to-Family Health Information Center, the Boys Town Institute for Child Health Improvement will:

• Assess State and community-based programs for integration of family-centered care principles and coordination/linkages between programs
• Improve the quality of health care services through a statewide Medical Home Learning Collaborative
• Expand developmental screening and surveillance in medical homes
• Partner with State and local programs to develop social marketing campaign on developmental screening and access to medical homes

Partners in the State
This section provides information on who in the state (individuals and agencies) are working together to create medical homes for children.

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Chapter

American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Chapter

Title V Block Grant to States
Title V of the Social Security Act is one of the largest Federal block grant programs. It leads the nation in ensuring the health of all mothers, infants, children, adolescents, and children with special health care needs (CSHCN). Title V is administered by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) as part of the Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Title V and Children with Special Health Care Needs
MCHB Objective: Support development and implementation of comprehensive, culturally competent, coordinated systems of care for the estimated 18 million U.S. children who have or are at risk for chronic physical, developmental, behavioral or emotional conditions and who also require health and related services of a type or amount beyond that required by children generally.

MCH Contact
Name: Paula Eurek, Title V/MCH Director
Address: 3rd Floor, PO Box 95026
Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: 402/471-0196 | Fax: 402/471-7049 | E-mail: paula.eurek@hhss.ne.gov
Web site

For the CSHCN Contact please view the Medical Home Contact at the top of the page.

Family Voices of Nebraska
Family Voices of Nebraska (FV NE) is hosted by the Parent Training and Information Nebraska (PTI Nebraska), a statewide training, information and support organization for parents in Nebraska who have a child birth through twenty six with special needs.

Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI) Contact(s):
State EHDI programs promote universal newborn hearing screening, develop effective tracking and follow-up as a part of the public health system, promote appropriate and timely diagnosis of the hearing loss, prompt enrollment in appropriate Early Intervention, link newborns to a medical home and strive to eliminate geographic and financial barriers to service access.

Name: Jeff Hoffman, CCC-A
Phone: 402/471-6770 | Fax: 402/471-1863
E-mail: jeffrey.hoffman@nebraska.gov

Early Intervention/Part C Coordinator:
The Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities (Part C of IDEA) is a federal grant program that assists states in operating a comprehensive statewide program of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities, ages birth through age 2 years, and their families.

Name: Joan Luebbers, Part C Co-Coordinator
Phone: 402/471-2463 | Fax: 402/471-5022 | Email: joan.luebbers@nebraska.gov
Web site

Name: Amy Bunnell , Part C Co-Coordinator
Phone: 402/471-9329 | Fax: 402/471-6352 | E-mail: jthelen@nebraska.gov
Web site

Section 619/ Preschool Grants Program of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This program provides free appropriate public education (FAPE) for children, ages 3 through 5 years, with disabilities:

Name: Jan Thelen, 619 Coordinator
Phone: 402/471-4319 | Fax: 402/471-5022 | E-mail: jthelen@nebraska.gov
Web site

Parent Training and Information (PTI) Nebraska
The mission of PTI Nebraska is to provide training, information and support to parents in Nebraska who have a child birth through twenty six with special needs. Resources are provided for parents, other family members, school personnel and interested others.

Name: Nina Baker, Health Information Coordinator
Phone: 402/346-9233 | E-mail: nbaker@pti-nebraska.org
Web site

Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS)
Together for Kids and Families, Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Grant Project is designed to achieve optimum outcomes for Nebraska’s young children and their families through comprehensive system planning and collaborative effort among stakeholders. Medical Home is one of the core components identified as part of the early childhood system necessary to achieve positive outcomes.

Name: Lynne Brehm, Together for Kids and Families Program Coordinator
Phone: 402/471-1384 | E-mail: lynne.brehm@nebraska.gov
Web site

Early Childhood Interagency Coordinating Council (ECICC)
The ECICC advises state agencies, the Governor, and the legislature around all issues of early childhood care and education. The council addresses early intervention services for children with disabilities based upon the requirements of early intervention act, serves as the Head Start Advisory Council, addresses issues around the quality child care act, and addresses early childhood education programs administered by the Nebraska Department of Education. A biennial report is prepared for the Governor on the Status of Early Childhood Care. The Council reviews state plans, changes in regulations, proposed legislation that might impact young children, and gaps and barriers in the service system.

Name: Ruth Miller, EC ICC Chair
Address: Educational Service Unit 8, PO Box 89, Neligh, NE 68756
Phone: 402/887-5041 | E-mail: ruth@esu8.org

Boys Town Institute for Child Health Improvement  
The Boys Town Institute for Child Health Improvement is working with local, state and national partners to improve the health of children and youth through improved access to medical homes. The Institute brings together community-based health care professionals with parents, policy makers and providers of services to children in the community to develop strategies that lead to the creation of medical homes and, subsequently, improvements in health care quality. Through a medical home, parents work in partnership to make informed decisions about their child’s care, while also considering their family’s cultural and non-medical needs. The Institute is working to demonstrate that by providing health care services through a medical home, there are improved health care outcomes that eventually result in improved school performance and increased opportunities for work and independence.

Name: Amy Gibson, MS, RN, Assistant Director
Address: 14100 Crawford, Boys Town, NE 68010
Phone: 402/498-1321 | E-mail: gibsona@boystown.org

Resources/Documents
State Waiver Information
Waivers are the result of a process that allows state Medicaid agencies to apply for and receive permission from HCFA to provide services not otherwise covered by Medicaid and/or to do so in ways not described by the Social Security Act. Most Medicaid managed care programs require Waivers. The Waivers, which can differ greatly, are known by their numbers (1115, 1119), or as home-and community-based, or as Katie Beckett Waivers.

Educational Initiatives
This section provides information on training initiatives on the medical home. Some states will discuss their outreach projects in relation to physicians, families, and the community.

No information is currently available for this category.

Screening Initiatives
This section provides information on surveillance and screening initiatives in the state.

State Newborn Screening & Genetics Programs:
Nebraska Newborn Screening Program and Contact Information

Nebraska Genetic Services and Contact Information

ASD: Nebraska State Plan
Nebraska State Plan For Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (2001)

State Resources on the Internet

Note: The information provided on the state pages was submitted by the state medical home teams.As this is not an exhaustive list, please let us know if you have additions for your state resource page. You can contact us at: medical home@aap.org.

Last Updated January 7, 2010