Nebraska Medical Center to close inpatient burn unit

Omaha-based Nebraska Medical Center will close its inpatient burn unit Sept. 4 and  consolidate those services with St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln, Neb., part of Omaha-based CHI Health, according to the Lincoln Journal Star.

After Nebraska Medical Center shutters its inpatient burn unit, St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center will have the only burn care center in the state. NMC will still provide care for patients with burns covering 10 percent or less of their bodies; however, patients with serious burns will be transported to St. Elizabeth to receive care, according to Live Well Nebraska.

Reviewers from the American College of Surgeons and American Burn Association emphasized that St. Elizabeth needed to maintain a certain volume of patients to remain certified by the organizations, according to Live Well Nebraska. That warning from reviewers partially attributed to the decision to consolidate burn care services.

"This decision was made after much careful research and discussion," Harris Frankel, MD, Nebraska Medical Center's CMO, said in a news release, according to the Lincoln Journal Star. "As we transition away from inpatient burn treatment, residents of the Omaha metro [area] 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."

The consolidation is expected to lower the cost of care for patients and employers while maintaining St. Elizabeth's certification, according to the report.

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