SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb., – 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 health care received by all patients and to decrease the costs of delivery high quality health care.

Regional West Physicians Clinic-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, 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 health care 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 health care costs,” said Dr. 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; and 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.

Regional West Health Services, with over 1,800 employees, provides comprehensive and innovative health care services for the people and communities of western Nebraska and the neighboring states of Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming. With over 110 active physicians, 95 percent of whom are board certified or board eligible, plus an additional 25 consulting specialists, Regional West offers care that spans more than 30 medical specialties. Regional West Medical Center, a subsidiary of Regional West Health Services, is accredited by The Joint Commission and is one of three Level II Trauma Centers in Nebraska.