(SCOTTSBLUFF)-A significant investment by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska in a model pain clinic is paying huge dividends for chronic pain patients in western Nebraska. Blue Cross Blue Shield awarded Regional West Physicians Clinic $800,000 over three years from their Fund for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care to help develop a pain management medical home program.

The goal of the fund is to support programs in Nebraska that have the potential to improve the quality, efficiency, and satisfaction with healthcare received by all patients and to decrease the costs of delivering high-quality healthcare.

Regional West Physicians Clinic (RWPC) Neuroscience Pain Clinic offers treatment for patients with pain related to trauma, cancer, and other illnesses; post-operative pain; headaches; chronic pain of the joints, neck, or back; and many other common and uncommon pain problems. It is the only dedicated pain clinic in western Nebraska. The clinic coordinates care through a multidisciplinary team that includes physicians, pharmacists, physical and occupational therapists, nutritionists, and other healthcare professionals.

Sanford Kiser, Jr., MD, who is board-certified in Pain Medicine and Psychiatry, is the medical director. “Too often, the complexities of today’s healthcare system create a bewildering maze, which causes patients with pain to become lost and unable to gain ready access to appropriate and efficient treatment. Prolonged and unnecessary suffering results and drives up healthcare costs,” said Kiser. “This grant will allow us to establish a first-in-the nation ‘Pain Management Medical Home’ approach, designed to coordinate pain treatment more effectively and relieve these problems.”

The RWPC Neuroscience Pain Clinic offers comprehensive pain services including assessment, treatment, education and follow-up designed to address both the physical and psychological aspects of pain. Physician referral is required. In addition to Dr. Kiser, the Pain Clinic is staffed by Jaimie Clodfelter, DO, who is board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine; Manuel Colón, MD, who is board certified in Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine; and nurse practitioners Mayda Zimmerman, MSN, APRN-C and Ron Strachan, APRN-FNP/PMHNP. For more information, visit www.rwmc.net/rwpc-neuroscience-pain-clinic.

--Submitted by Regional West Health Services