Archive
The healthcare war: Round and round it goes again, and where it stops, nobody knows
The healthcare war:
Round and round it goes again, and where it stops, nobody knows
©by Leo Adam Biga
Originally appeared in the August 2017 issue of The Reader (www.thereader.com)
As we go to press with this issue, the Republican-led attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare struggles on..
One of the most controversial things the GOP plan broached was severely cutting Medicaid, the nation’s largest health care program. Critics see it as an entitlement grown far beyond its original scope. Most recipients are children, mothers, the disabled and the elderly. The proposed $770 billion cut – spread out over several years – would have impacted millions, particularly the working poor in rural regions, who account for many of those added to the rolls through the ACA’s Medicaid expansion.
One World Community Health Centers CEO Andrea Skolkin said far from an automatic hand-out, qualifying for Medicaid is actually “very difficult.” She added, “There’s a lot of myths about Medicaid and who’s eligible to be enrolled. If you’re an able-bodied adult, you’re not really eligible. You really have to be an advocate for yourself in getting enrolled with all the paperwork because you have to prove your income. It’s an arduous process.”
The program, said Skolkin, places severe limits on not only eligibility, but coverage for certain things. Any tightening of eligibility and reduction of spending, she said, would result in even less access to care.
“As Medicaid ratchets down what it pays to providers, providers are less likely to want to accept Medicaid and so this vulnerable population doesn’t have as much choice of provider of where to get care, and that’s a problem.”
Currently, one in five Americans is enrolled in the program. In Nebraska, which refused Medicaid expansion, one in eight or some 230,000 people are enrolled. Skolkin estimates about 70,000 Nebraskans fall in the gaps – either not eligible for the marketplace or not covered by a private plan or by Medicaid.
Nebraska Methodist Health System vice president and CFO Jeff Francis was most troubled that “draconian cuts” to Medicaid were even on the table for so long.
“The thing that still looms out there that bothers me is that there wasn’t much budge on that,” Francis said. “I understand the partisan divisions on that, but at the end of the day that degree of cut to Medicaid is going to really impact individuals and individuals’ coverage. In Nebraska we get a bit of a double whammy, no matter what happens with the cuts because, one, we weren’t a Medicaid expansion state, so we’ve not benefited at all from some of the expanded coverage in federal dollars that went along with that. And, two, historically we’ve been lower on the Medicaid spending spectrum, and so as that translates into cuts and block grants for the states, Nebraska’s going to get hit pretty hard.”
Medicaid is crucial for millions getting treatment for maladies, and Skolkin said, “It also has an impact on long-term care in a tremendous way.”
Low weight new babies, infant mortality, STD and teen pregnancy rates are at crisis levels. The opioid epidemic got highlighted in the recent care plan debates. Mental illness is increasingly recognized as an acute public health problem. In the proposed Medicaid cut, some public schools would have lost funding for screenings and other care that students from low income families rely on.
In this high needs scenario, cutting access to care means some people will delay or defer treatment, and those with conditions that could be prevented or controlled will get sicker, while others will seek care in emergency rooms, all of which puts more pressure on providers. The system’s closely interwoven nature is such that pulling hard on one strand, like public health, will fray or undo other strands in this fragile crazy quilt.
“The tapestry doesn’t work without all the threads,” said One World pediatric nursing practitioner Sara Miller.
Nebraska Medicine CEO Dr. Daniel DeBehnke appreciates how those outside the industry often fail to see just what a tightly-knit fabric it is.
“I don’t know if it’s a disconnect or just a reflection of the complexity of it,” DeBehnke said.
In the event of cuts, he said, “low income individuals are going to need to make really tough choices about how to pay for a roof over their head and feed their family and pay for healthcare, and some may put off healthcare, and that has several domino effects. People become less healthy and when they do access healthcare, they require more services. Once they do require services, a lot of that financial burden gets shifted to the facilities caring for them, be it a local clinic, provider or large health system.”
Sara Miller envisions “life expectancy decreasing because you don’t have the opportunity to intervene in the early years, especially for kids to have healthy habits, and to do preventive medicine, so that folks don’t have diabetes or high cholesterol by the time they’re in their mid-20s.” She added, “My fear most is for the families that it affects and their deciding between food and electricity and healthcare. That’s a decision nobody should ever have to make.”
Exacerbating it all, DeBehnke said, is the “skyrocketing” cost of care.
“We should be focusing on that as well and not just in cutting the dollars that go for healthcare – but how can we decrease the cost of healthcare, the cost of prescription drugs driving a lot of the cost. How can we drive healthcare systems like ours and others to be more efficient and cost-conscious. We’re working on that every single day because we know that’s how we’re going to be paid in the future,” DeBehnke said. “But there are all those other things we should be working on as well so that we pay less for healthcare as opposed to just giving less money for healthcare.”
No matter where this all lands, he said, “When we talk about Nebraska Medicine and our mission, we’ll take care of anybody that walks in our door. That’s who we are and that’s what we do and we’re big enough to be able to do that.”
As a Federally Qualified Health Center, One World takes anyone, too, but it doesn’t have as deep of pockets as Nebraska Medicine.
“When we have increases in numbers like we have seen – we cared for over 18,000 patients last year who were uninsured, which is more than half of all of our patients – that’s an increasing burden as an organization in trying to leverage other funds so we can take care of all people,” Skolkin said. “If Medicaid reduces what it reimburses for certain services, again that’s a reduction to every provider, including us. So, whether you need an x-ray or some lab work. as things get reduced we get less payment for that and then it just has a ripple effect.
“So, cuts do impact us and at some point we won’t be able to provide the extent of care we provide. I would hate to see that happen, but at some point you have to be able to make your budget.”
DeBehnke said no matter what happens, “there’s going to be people left behind,” adding, “The idea that I hope legislators are thinking about is how do we leave the least amount behind.”
Jeff Francis said this is no time to be complacent even as Nebraska Methodist Health System is “operating well under the Affordable Care Act.” He added, “It took some time for us to be able to understand it. We’re now into the fourth year of the federal exchanges and the insurance aspects of it. Other parts of it we’ve been operating under for about six years. And so it’s going on. We’re seeing better outcomes because the focus is on quality and outcomes as opposed to just the fee for service or being paid for services.”
But just as the ACA was never meant to be a panacea for all the system’s faults, Francis said major cuts to public health would have negative consequences.
“To the extent there are less insured and so people are doing less preventive, that would be a step backwards from a public health standpoint. We still have the vulnerable populations – those with chronic conditions, in some cases multiple chronic conditions, those with mental health challenges, the working poor.”
Methodist Health and others are working to fill the gaps where they can.
“We’re reaching out to try and address that,” Francis said “by opening up a community health center in downtown Omaha to work with other entities-services to reach vulnerable populations. That center is going to have Lutheran Family Services associated with it to try to deal with that behavioral health component.”
The center is part of the Kountze Commons project on the former KETV site at 26th and Douglas. It’s an expansion of existing Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church health and food services.
Andy Hale, Vice President of Advocacy for the Nebraska Hospital Association, said his organization has been lobbying the state’s congressional delegation to “ensure all Americans can access the compassionate, patient-centered and affordable healthcare they deserve.”
“Nebraska’s hospitals serve as the safety net in each of their communities,” Hale said.
Hospital programs benefit the state, he said, by “providing free care to individuals unable to pay, absorbing the unpaid costs of public programs such as Medicare and Medicaid,” as well as “subsidizing health services reimbursed at amounts below the cost of providing the care … and incurring bad debt from individuals that choose not to pay their bills,” according to Hale.
Hale said hospitals serving more rural regions typically to treat “older, poorer, sicker populations” who tend to be on Medicare or Medicaid.
“Medicaid plays a critical role for Americans who live in small towns and rural areas,” Hale said. “Almost half of all children living in small towns and rural areas receive their health coverage through Medicaid. Research shows Medicaid provides families with access to necessary health services.”
He said any drastic cuts will be felt most in rural areas.
“Many hospital margins are already thin, but when you begin cutting reimbursement rates, it hits their bottom lines and drives those hospitals to significant losses.”
One World’s Andrea Skolkin said even in this repeal and replace mania, vital aspects of public care should not be lost in the shuffle.
“The expansion of Medicaid funding for children through CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) expires on September 30. All of these things are tied together.”
DeBehnke would like whatever process follows this latest effort to undo the ACA to be deliberate.
“President Trump said at the beginning of all this, ‘Who would have thought this was so complex?’ Well, we’ve all known it’s this complex and we’ve been trying to warn it’s this complex all along,” DeBehnke said. “As opposed to rushing to try to get something done because it was a campaign promise lawmakers made to their constituents, let’s take our time and try to figure it out and get it right. Obamacare wasn’t perfect either. There are good things we can pull from there that are in the right direction.”
Behind-the-scenes, executives like DeBehnke and Francis are bending elected officials’ ears.
“We’re wanting to make sure legislators and policymakers keep that longer view perspective. I think that’s coming out in some of the town halls the senators and congressman are hearing,” Francis said.
Meanwhile, the leadership of Nebraska Medicaid is in transition. Longtime director Calder Lynch left for a federal job in May. Former deputy director Rocky Thompson is serving as interim head until a permanent replacement is found.
Andrea Skolkin is unsettled, too, by the unknown but feels something like universal care will emerge and retain a public health haven.
“We are having those conversations – trying to make our representatives aware of the patient base we care for and what the impacts of cuts would be. Many of our patients, almost all of them, fall into this vulnerable bracket. If you cut too hard, then that social compact becomes less available for the people that need it most.
“I do believe there will be something for everyone. I think Medicaid is still going to be there. There’s a lot of argument-dialogue going around right now. It hasn’t been as productive as it could be. But I am hopeful it will end in the right place. Whether the Affordable Care Act is repealed or not, there has to be a safety net in place for people who are more vulnerable.”
Read more of Leo Adam Biga’s work at leoadambiga.com.
Life Itself XVI: Social justice, civil rights, human services, human rights, community development stories
Life Itself XVI:
Social justice, civil rights, human services, human rights, community development stories
Unequal Justice: Juvenile detention numbers are down, but bias persists
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/03/09/unequal-justice-…ut-bias-persists
To vote or not to vote
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/06/01/to-vote-or-not-to-vote/
North Omaha rupture at center of PlayFest drama
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/04/30/north-omaha-rupt…f-playfest-drama/
Her mother’s daughter: Charlene Butts Ligon carries on civil rights legacy of her late mother Evelyn Thomas Butts
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/01/28/her-mothers-daug…lyn-thomas-butts/
Brenda Council: A public servant’s life
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/06/26/brenda-council-a…ic-servants-life
The Urban League movement lives strong in Omaha
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/11/17/the-urban-league…-strong-in-omaha/
Park Avenue Revitalization and Gentrification: InCommon Focuses on Urban Neighborhood
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/02/25/park-avenue-revi…ban-neighborhood/
Health and healing through culture and community
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/11/17/health-and-heali…re-and-community
Syed Mohiuddin: A pillar of the Tri-Faith Initiative in Omaha
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/09/01/syed-mohiuddin-a…tiative-in-omaha
Re-entry prepares current and former incarcerated individuals for work and life success on the outside
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/01/10/re-entry-prepare…s-on-the-outside/
Frank LaMere: A good man’s work is never done
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/07/11/frank-lamere-a-g…rk-is-never-done
Behind the Vision: Othello Meadows of 75 North Revitalization Corp.
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/06/27/behind-the-visio…italization-corp
North Omaha beckons investment, combats gentrification
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/05/25/north-omaha-beck…s-gentrification
SAFE HARBOR: Activists working to create Omaha Area Sanctuary Network as refuge for undocumented persons in danger of arrest-deportation
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/06/29/safe-harbor-acti…rest-deportation
Heartland Dreamers have their say in nation’s capitol
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/03/24/heartland-dreame…-nations-capitol/
Of Dreamers and doers, and one nation indivisible under…
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/02/21/of-dreamers-and-…ndivisible-under/
Refugees and asylees follow pathways to freedom, safety and new starts
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/02/21/refugees-and-asy…y-and-new-starts
Coming to America: Immigrant-Refugee mosaic unfolds in new ways and old ways in Omaha
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/07/10/coming-to-americ…ld-ways-in-omaha
History in the making: $65M Tri-Faith Initiative bridges religious, social, political gaps
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/05/25/history-in-the-m…l-political-gaps
A systems approach to addressing food insecurity in North Omaha
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/08/11/a-systems-approa…y-in-north-omaha
No More Empty Pots Intent on Ending North Omaha Food Desert
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/08/13/no-more-empty-po…t-in-north-omaha
Poverty in Omaha:
Breaking the cycle and the high cost of being poor
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/01/03/poverty-in-omaha…st-of-being-poor/
Down and out but not done in Omaha: Documentary surveys the poverty landscape
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/11/03/down-and-out-but…overty-landscape
Struggles of single moms subject of film and discussion; Local women can relate to living paycheck to paycheck
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/10/24/the-struggles-of…heck-to-paycheck
Aisha’s Adventures: A story of inspiration and transformation; homelessness didn’t stop entrepreneurial missionary Aisha Okudi from pursuing her goals
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/07/10/aisha-okudis-sto…rsuing-her-goals
Omaha Community Foundation project assesses the Omaha landscape with the goal of affecting needed change
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/05/10/omaha-community-…ng-needed-change/
Nelson Mandela School Adds Another Building Block to North Omaha’s Future
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/01/24/nelson-mandela-s…th-omahas-future
Partnership 4 Kids – Building Bridges and Breaking Barriers
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/06/03/partnership-4-ki…reaking-barriers
Changing One Life at a Time: Mentoring Takes Center Stage as Individuals and Organizations Make Mentoring Count
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/01/05/changing-one-lif…-mentoring-count/
Where Love Resides: Celebrating Ty and Terri Schenzel
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/02/02/where-love-resid…d-terri-schenzel/
North Omaha: Voices and Visions for Change
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/02/29/north-omaha-voic…sions-for-change
Black Lives Matter: Omaha activists view social movement as platform for advocating-making change
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/08/26/black-lives-matt…ng-making-change

Change in North Omaha: It’s been a long time coming for northeast Omaha
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/08/01/change-in-north-…-northeast-omaha/
Girls Inc. makes big statement with addition to renamed North Omaha center
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/05/23/girls-inc-makes-…rth-omaha-center
NorthStar encourages inner city kids to fly high; Boys-only after-school and summer camp put members through their paces
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/06/17/northstar-encour…ough-their-paces/
Big Mama, Bigger Heart: Serving Up Soul Food and Second Chances
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/10/17/big-mama-bigger-…d-second-chances/
When a building isn’t just a building: LaFern Williams South YMCA facelift reinvigorates community
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/08/03/when-a-building-…-just-a-building/
Identity gets new platform through RavelUnravel
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/03/20/identity-gets-a-…ugh-ravelunravel/
Where Hope Lives, Hope Center for Kids in North Omaha
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/06/04/where-hope-lives…s-in-north-omaha/
Crime and punishment questions still surround 1970 killing that sent Omaha Two to life in prison
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/03/30/crime-and-punish…o-life-in-prison/
A WASP’s racial tightrope resulted in enduring book partially set in 1960s Omaha
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/10/28/a-wasps-racial-t…t-in-1960s-omaha/
Gabriela Martinez:
A heart for humanity and justice for all
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/03/08/16878
Father Ken Vavrina’s new book “Crossing Bridges” charts his life serving others
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/10/29/father-ken-vavri…e-serving-others/
Wounded Knee still battleground for some per new book by journalist-author Stew Magnuson
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/04/20/wounded-knee-sti…or-stew-magnuson
‘Bless Me, Ultima’: Chicano identity at core of book, movie, movement
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/09/14/bless-me-ultima-…k-movie-movement
Finding Normal: Schalisha Walker’s journey finding normal after foster care sheds light on service needs
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/07/18/finding-normal-s…on-service-needs/
Dick Holland remembered for generous giving and warm friendship that improved organizations and lives
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/02/08/dick-holland-rem…ations-and-lives/
Justice champion Samuel Walker calls It as he sees it
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/05/30/justice-champion…it-as-he-sees-it
Photo caption:
Walker on far left of porch of a Freedom Summer
El Puente: Attempting to bridge divide between grassroots community and the system
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/07/22/el-puente-attemp…y-and-the-system
All Abide: Abide applies holistic approach to building community; Josh Dotzler now heads nonprofit started by his parents
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/12/05/all-abide-abide-…d-by-his-parents/
Making Community: Apostle Vanessa Ward Raises Up Her North Omaha Neighborhood and Builds Community
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/08/13/making-community…builds-community/
Collaboration and diversity matter to Inclusive Communities: Nonprofit teaches tools and skills for valuing human differences
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/05/09/collaboration-an…uman-differences
Talking it out: Inclusive Communities makes hard conversations the featured menu item at Omaha Table Talk
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/05/02/talking-it-out-i…omaha-table-talk/
Everyone’s welcome at Table Talk, where food for thought and sustainable race relations happen over breaking bread together
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/09/16/everyones-welcom…g-bread-together/
Feeding the world, nourishing our neighbors, far and near: Howard G. Buffett Foundation and Omaha nonprofits take on hunger and food insecurity
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/11/22/feeding-the-worl…-food-insecurity
Rabbi Azriel: Legacy as social progressive and interfaith champion secure
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/05/15/rabbi-azriel-leg…-champion-secure
Rabbi Azriel’s neighborhood welcomes all, unlike what he saw on recent Middle East trip; Social justice activist and interfaith advocate optimistic about Tri-Faith campus
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/09/06/rabbi-azriels-ne…tri-faith-campus/
Ferial Pearson, award-winning educator dedicated to inclusion and social justice, helps students publish the stories of their lives
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/08/25/ferial-pearson-a…s-of-their-lives/
Upon This Rock: Husband and Wife Pastors John and Liz Backus Forge Dynamic Ministry Team at Trinity Lutheran
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/02/02/upon-this-rock-h…trinity-lutheran/
Gravitas – Gravity Center for Contemplative Activism founders Christopher and Phileena Heuertz create place of healing for healers
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/04/01/gravitas-gravity…ling-for-healers/
Art imitates life for “Having Our Say” stars, sisters Camille Metoyer Moten and Lanette Metoyer Moore, and their brother Ray Metoyer
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/02/05/art-imitates-lif…ther-ray-metoyer
Color-blind love:
Five interracial couples share their stories
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/02/06/color-blind-love…re-their-stories
A Decent House for Everyone: Jesuit Brother Mike Wilmot builds affordable homes for the working poor through Gesu Housing
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/09/09/a-decent-house-f…ugh-gesu-housing
Bro. Mike Wilmot and Gesu Housing: Building Neighborhoods and Community, One House at a Time
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/04/27/bro-mike-wilmot-…-house-at-a-time/
Omaha native Steve Marantz looks back at city’s ’68 racial divide through prism of hoops in new book, “The Rhythm Boys of Omaha Central”
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/04/01/omaha-native-ste…of-omaha-central/
Anti-Drug War manifesto documentary frames discussion:
Cost of criminalizing nonviolent offenders comes home
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/02/01/an-anti-drug-war…nders-comes-home
Documentary shines light on civil rights powerbroker Whitney Young: Producer Bonnie Boswell to discuss film and Young
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/03/21/documentary-shin…e-film-and-young
Civil rights veteran Tommie Wilson still fighting the good fight
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/05/07/civil-rights-vet…g-the-good-fight
Rev. Everett Reynolds Gave Voice to the Voiceless
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/07/18/rev-everett-reyn…to-the-voiceless/
Lela Knox Shanks: Woman of conscience, advocate for change, civil rights and social justice champion
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/08/04/lela-knox-shanks…ocate-for-change
Omahans recall historic 1963 march on Washington
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/08/12/omahans-recall-h…ch-on-washington
Psychiatrist-Public Health Educator Mindy Thompson Fullilove Maps the Root Causes of America’s Inner City Decline and Paths to Restoration
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/07/04/psychiatrist-pub…s-to-restoration/
A force of nature named Evie:
Still a maverick social justice advocate at 100
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/16/a-force-of-natur…e-advocate-at-99
Home is where the heart Is for activist attorney Rita Melgares
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/07/20/home-is-where-th…ey-rita-melgares/
Free Radical Ernie Chambers subject of new biography by author Tekla Agbala Ali Johnson
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/12/05/free-radical-ern…bala-ali-johnson
Carolina Quezada leading rebound of Latino Center of the Midlands
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/05/03/carolina-quezada…-of-the-midlands/
Returning To Society: New community collaboration, research and federal funding fight to hold the costs of criminal recidivism down
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/07/02/returning-to-soc…-recidivism-down
Getting Straight: Compassion in Action expands work serving men, women and children touched by the judicial and penal system
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/05/22/getting-straight…and-penal-system
OneWorld Community Health: Caring, affordable services for a multicultural world in need
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/04/09/oneworld-communi…al-world-in-need
Dick Holland responds to far-reaching needs in Omaha
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/06/04/dick-holland-res…g-needs-in-omaha/
Gender equity in sports has come a long way, baby; Title IX activists-advocates who fought for change see much progress and the need for more
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/06/11/gender-equity-in…he-need-for-more/
Giving kids a fighting chance: Carl Washington and his CW Boxing Club and Youth Resource Center
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/12/03/giving-kids-a-fi…-resource-center/
Beto’s way: Gang intervention specialist tries a little tenderness
http://leoadambiga.com/2015/10/28/betos-way-gang-i…ittle-tenderness/
Saving one kid at a time is Beto’s life work
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/01/24/saving-one-kid-a…-betos-life-work
Community trumps gang in Fr. Greg Boyle’s Homeboy model
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/07/21/community-trumps…es-homeboy-model/
Born again ex-gangbanger and pugilist, now minister, Servando Perales makes Victory Boxing Club his mission church for saving youth from the streets
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/12/19/born-again-ex-ga…from-the-streets/
Turning kids away from gangs and toward teams in South Omaha
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/07/17/turning-kids-awa…s-in-south-omaha/
“Paco” proves you can come home again
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/04/09/paco-proves-you-…-come-home-again

Two graduating seniors fired by dreams and memories, also saddened by closing of school, St. Peter Claver Cristo Rey High
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/05/11/two-graduating-s…igh-in-omaha-neb/
St. Peter Claver Cristo Rey High: A school where dreams matriculate
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/08/29/st-peter-claver-…eams-matriculate/
Open Invitation: Rev. Tom Fangman engages all who seek or need at Sacred Heart Catholic Church
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/01/09/an-open-invitati…-catholic-church/
Outward Bound Omaha uses experiential education to challenge and inspire youth
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/04/26/outward-bound-om…nd-inspire-youth
After steep decline, the Wesley House rises under Paul Bryant to become youth academy of excellence in the inner city
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/08/27/after-a-steep-de…n-the-inner-city
Freedom riders: A get on the bus inauguration diary
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/10/21/get-on-the-bus-a…-ride-to-freedom/
The Great Migration comes home: Deep South exiles living in Omaha participated in the movement author Isabel Wilkerson writes about in her book, “The Warmth of Other Suns”
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/03/31/the-great-migrat…th-of-other-suns/
When New Horizons dawned for African-Americans seeking homes in Omaha
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/01/17/when-new-horizon…ericans-in-omaha/
Good Shepherds of North Omaha: Ministers and churches making a difference in area of great need
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/07/04/the-shepherds-of…ea-of-great-need
Academy Award-nominated documentary “A Time for Burning” captured church and community struggle with racism
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/12/15/a-time-for-burni…ggle-with-racism/
Letting 1,000 Flowers Bloom: The Black Scholar’s Robert Chrisman Looks Back at a Life in the Maelstrom
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/03/08/letting-1000-flo…in-the-maelstrom
Coloring History:
A long, hard road for UNO Black Studies
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/08/25/coloring-history…no-black-studies
Two Part Series: After Decades of Walking Behind to Freedom, Omaha’s African-American Community Tries Picking Up the Pace Through Self-Empowered Networking
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/02/13/two-part-series-…wered-networking
Power Players, Ben Gray and Other Omaha African-American Leaders Try Improvement Through Self-Empowered Networking
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/07/09/power-players-be…wered-networking/
Native Omahans Take Stock of the African-American Experience in Their Hometown
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/07/04/native-omahans-t…n-their-hometown
Overarching plan for North Omaha development now in place: Disinvested community hopeful long promised change follows
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/07/29/overarching-plan…d-change-follows/
Standing on Faith, Sadie Bankston Continues One-Woman Vigil for Homicide Victim Families
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/08/29/standing-on-fait…-victim-families/
Forget Me Not Memorial Wall
North Omaha champion Frank Brown fights the good fight
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/01/15/north-omaha-cham…s-the-good-fight/
Man on fire: Activist Ben Gray’s flame burns bright
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/09/02/ben-gray-man-on-fire/
Strong, Smart and Bold, A Girls Inc. Success Story
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/08/29/strong-smart-and…-girls-inc-story
What happens to a dream deferred?
John Beasley Theater revisits Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun”
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/06/14/what-happens-to-…aisin-in-the-sun
Brown v. Board of Education:
Educate with an Even Hand and Carry a Big Stick
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/07/07/brown-v-board-of…arry-a-big-stick/
Fast times at Omaha’s Liberty Elementary: Evolution of a school
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/07/05/fast-times-at-om…tion-of-a-school/
New school ringing in Liberty for students
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/06/new-school-ringi…rty-for-students
Nancy Oberst: Pied Piper of Liberty Elementary School
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/09/06/nancy-oberst-the…lementary-school/
Tender Mercies Minister to Omaha’s Poverty Stricken
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/31/tender-mercies-m…poverty-stricken/
Community and coffee at Omaha’s Perk Avenue Cafe
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/06/04/community-and-co…perk-avenue-cafe/
Whatsoever You Do to the Least of My Brothers, that You Do Unto Me: Mike Saklar and the Siena/Francis House Provide Tender Mercies to the Homeless
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/08/01/whatsoever-you-d…t-you-do-unto-me/
Gimme Shelter: Sacred Heart Catholic Church Offers a Haven for Searchers
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/31/gimme-shelter-sa…en-for-searchers
UNO wrestling dynasty built on tide of social change
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/03/17/uno-wrestling-dy…-social-change-2
A brief history of Omaha’s civil rights struggle distilled in black and white by photographer Rudy Smith
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/05/02/a-brief-history-…apher-rudy-smith/
Hidden In plain view: Rudy Smith’s camera and memory fix on critical time in struggle for equality
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/08/29/hidden-in-plain-…gle-for-equality/
Small but mighty group proves harmony can be forged amidst differences
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/11/14/small-but-mighty…idst-differences/
Winners Circle: Couple’s journey of self-discovery ends up helping thousands of at-risk kids through early intervention educational program
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/31/couples-journey-…-of-at-risk-kids
A Mentoring We Will Go
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/18/a-mentoring-we-will-go
Abe Sass: A mensch for all seasons
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/05/02/abe-sass-a-mensch-for-all-seasons
Shirley Goldstein: Cream of the Crop – one woman’s remarkable journey in the Free Soviet Jewry movement
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/09/05/shirley-goldstei…t-jewry-movement/
Flanagan-Monsky example of social justice and interfaith harmony still shows the way seven decades later
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/31/flanagan-monsky-…y-60-years-later/
A Contrary Path to Social Justice: The De Porres Club and the fight for equality in Omaha
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/01/a-contrary-path-…quality-in-omaha/
Hey, you, get off of my cloud! Doug Paterson is acolyte of Theatre of the Oppressed founder Augusto Boal and advocate of art as social action
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/06/03/hey-you-get-off-…as-social-action/
Doing time on death row: Creighton University theater gives life to “Dead Man Walking”
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/01/10/doing-time-on-de…dead-man-walking/
“Walking Behind to Freedom” – A musical theater examination of race
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/06/21/walking-behind-t…mination-of-race/
Bertha’s Battle: Bertha Calloway, the Grand Lady of Lake Street, struggles to keep the Great Plains Black History Museum afloat
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/11/berthas-battle
Leonard Thiessen social justice triptych deserves wider audience
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/01/21/leonard-thiessen…s-wider-audience/