UNMC and Nebraska Medicine are leaders in the emerging field of Neurohospital Medicine

The University of Nebraska Medical Center is home to the largest and most comprehensive academic neurohospitalist program in the region. In fact, the UNMC Department of Neurological Sciences was the birthplace of the region’s first neurohospitalist program in 2014. Since then, the program has developed into its own division of 9 physicians and APPs leading 24/7/365 neurologic care of hospitalized and emergency room patients through 3 comprehensive inpatient services. Through the inpatient General Neurology Service and Stroke Service, the Neurohospitalists are able to impact thousands of patient’s lives within our own hospital. Through the Tele-Neurology Service, they provide specialized neurologic care for patients in smaller hospitals throughout the region.

Neurohospitalist Medicine is one of the newest and fastest growing subspecialties in neurology. A neurohospitalist is a neurologist who is hospital based and whose expertise is most needed on the inpatient units and emergency rooms. The subspecialty arose in response to the demand for high-quality neurologic inpatient care, increasing patient complexity, and the hospital’s need for rapid evaluation and management of neurologic emergencies. Neurohospitalists specialize in the evaluation and treatment of acute & emergency neurologic conditions such as stroke, meningitis, seizures, confusion & delirium, as well as neurologic complications of systemic diseases. They have additional roles as specialists in patient safety, quality improvement, and often medical education. Like the majority of practicing academic neurohospitalists, most of the UNMC Neurohospitalists have additional subspecialty or fellowship training including vascular neurology, epilepsy, neuro-critical care, neuro-immunology, and neurophysiology. The development of this subspecialty has largely mirrored that of medical hospitalists and is similarly demonstrating its value. Currently, there are around 2,000 practicing neurohospitalist in the United States, but the need is estimated to be over 20,000.

The UNMC Neurohospitalist Program has distinguished itself both within the institution and the region. As has been predicted in the medical literature, development of the UNMC Neurohospitalist Program has been associated with improvements in patient length-of-stay, mortality, and complication rates. Almost all the Neurohospitalists have received awards related to education or patient advocacy. Regionally, UNMC and Nebraska Medicine have earned the reputation as the “go-to” hospital for neurological conditions. Among specialty medical services, the inpatient neurology services are one of the largest draws of outside transfers to our hospital. Importantly, all successes have only been achieved through the seamless collaboration with their teammates in Neurocritical Care, Neurovascular Neurology, & Neurosurgery that makes our hospital extraordinary.