ACHIEVEMENTS
Trauma survivor Isra Somanas (left) and Dr. Reginald Burton received GOAL Awards.
Dr. Russell Semm is a leader among physicians performing procedures known as ETPTR.
GOAL Award honors Dr. Burton
Dr. Semm Brain Injury reaches surgical Council tabs milestone Oetjen
March of Dimes recognizes Van Gerpen
Director of Trauma Reginald Burton, MD, received a GOAL Award this fall as a member of the medical team that saved the life of Isra Somanas. Graduate student Somanas, of Bangkok, Thailand, was struck by a car while biking in Lincoln. Somanas was rushed to the Bryan Trauma Center on the Bryan West Campus and treated for a broken pelvis, collapsed lung and traumatic brain injury. The Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital Chairman’s GOAL Awards honor patients’ successful rehabilitation and the trauma centers and physicians who saved them. n
On Dec. 18, otolaryngologist Russell Semm, MD, performed his 200th endoscopic transsphenoidal pituitary tumor removal (ETPTR). In 1997, he and neurosurgeon Benjamin Gelber, MD, introduced Lincoln patients to the advantages of endoscopic removal of pituitary tumors through the paranasal sinuses. Dr. Semm notes that Dr. Gelber and neurosurgeon Daniel Tomes, MD, teamed up with him for most of the 200 procedures. He says, “It’s been an honor and a privilege to perform these surgeries over the past 18 years, as it has been a great benefit to our patients.” n
The Nebraska Chapter of the March of Dimes presented its Nurse of the Year Research/ Evidence-based Practice Excellence Award to Ruth Van Gerpen, APRN-CNS. Ruth wears many hats, including nurse navigator, clinical nurse specialist, leader, educator, patients’ advocate and author. She has initiated a continuous quality improvement process to ensure evidencebased guidelines are used for pain assessments. She developed a pain management education program for nurses and co-developed the LifeSpring Cancer Recovery Program. n
Kilee Oetjen, PT, DPT, is a new member of the Nebraska Brain Injury Advisory Council.
Acute rehabilitation physical therapist Kilee Oetjen was named to the Nebraska Brain Injury Advisory Council. Oetjen, PT, DPT, is a 2007 graduate of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where she earned a Doctorate of Physical Therapy. Her area of clinical focus at Bryan is pediatric and adult brain injury. She is certified by the Academy of Certified Brain Injury Specialists. The Council educates providers and the public about brain injury and recommends policies and practices to state leaders to meet the needs of persons with brain injuries. n
Ruth Van Gerpen, APRN-CNS, (right) poses with Nebraska’s First Lady, Susanne Shore.
Bryan Journeys 23