NPA's 2020 Fall Conference – "Chronic Pain Management"

Presenter Bios

Kim Vacek, Ph.D. — Dr. Vacek received her B.S. from University of Nebraska at Omaha, and both her M.A. in Community Counseling and Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Loyola University Chicago. She completed her psychology internship at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and her postdoctoral fellowship at the Roosevelt University Counseling Center. She has worked in health psychology for Nebraska Medicine since 2011. Initially she worked for the Psychology Department conducting pre-surgical assessments and therapy for the Bariatric Center and kidney transplant team, as well as inpatient consultations and general evidence-based outpatient therapy. She also has a background in treating trauma-related disorders, and she served as the liaison to the Trauma Team at that time. In 2013 she transferred to the Chronic Pain Management Program at Nebraska Medicine, where she served as staff psychologist until just recently. Currently she works as a behavioral health consultant for the Patient Centered Medical Home at Nebraska Medicine, in the Bellevue Primary Care Clinic. In this capacity she serves as a consultant to primary care providers and provides brief evidence-based interventions to patients. She is also passionate about supervision with providers in training, and for the past several years has been able to do so through the pre-doctoral psychology internship, marriage and family therapy internships, postdoctoral psychology/neuropsychology fellowships, family medicine residency, and pain medicine fellowship. 

Dr. Madhuri Are, MD. — is a Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at UNMC, the Division Chief of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, and the Director of Cancer Pain Management. She completed medical school at St. George’s University School of Medicine, West Indies/Bay Shore, NY, with her internship at Haheman University/Medical College of Pennsylvania, and her residency at Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston.

Lindsay F. Seim, Psy.D. — Dr. Seim earned her B.A. in Psychology from Nebraska Wesleyan University and her M.A. and Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri. Dr. Seim completed her predoctoral internship at Mississippi State Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi and her postdoctoral fellowship at Center for Behavioral Medicine in Kansas City, Missouri. She has been a clinical psychologist at the Nebraska Medicine Chronic Pain Management Program since 2011. In addition to her work with patients, she is involved in the training of predoctoral psychology interns, family medicine residents, and pain medicine fellows at Nebraska Medicine.

Giuseppe ("Joe") Siracusano, DPT, PT — Dr. Siracusano is a Doctor of Physical Therapy specializing in the treatment of persons with chronic pain disorders at Nebraska Medicine’s Chronic Pain Management Program. Dr. Siracusano graduated from the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Division of Physical Therapy Education in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy, received a Master’s Degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in Health Education in 1986, and completed his Doctoral Degree in Physical Therapy at Creighton University in Omaha, NE in 2012.

Dr. Siracusano has worked at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s (UNMC) Pain Management Center since 1981. Siracusano took a brief sabbatical to be involved in the creation of a pain rehabilitation program in Pennsylvania during 1987. Dr. Siracusano has been an adjunct assistant professor at UNMC’s College of Allied Health Professions in the Division of Physical Therapy Education since 1990. Siracusano is an American Physical Therapy Association credentialed clinical educator in physical therapy and is a certified teacher of Tai Chi for Better Balance.

Lori Long, DPT, PT — Dr. Long is a Nebraska native currently living in Gretna, NE but is originally from Wayne in northeastern Nebraska.  Dr. Long attended Wayne State College for her undergraduate work majoring in Pre-Physical Therapy.  Prior to graduating from Wayne State, she transferred to Rosalind Franklin University in North Chicago, IL where she completed her B.S. in Physical Therapy.  She later attended Des Moines University to complete her transitional Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree in 2018. 
 
Dr. Long returned to Nebraska after graduating from Rosalind Franklin University. She has been practicing in the Omaha area since 1997. For the past 5 years, she has been practicing at Nebraska Medicine in their Chronic Pain Management Program.  Prior to coming to Nebraska Medicine, she worked in a wide variety of specialty areas including outpatient, acute, aquatics, skilled nursing, long-term acute care, and in a joint replacement center.  Her wide variety of clinical experiences has helped her understand the journey many of the chronic pain patients have endured prior to arriving at the CPMP.  
 
When not at work, Dr. Long keeps busy with her husband and their three sons ranging in age from 9 to 18. She is a very proud “boy mom.” Her oldest son plays soccer so you will often find her either on the sidelines or at home watching professional soccer from her couch.  (Go Liverpool!) She also enjoys spending time with her kids at the zoo, playing board games and watching movies..

Adrienne Connor, PT — Adrienne Connor is a physical therapist in The Nebraska Medical Center’s Chronic Pain Management Program and the UNMC Olson Center for Women’s Health. She specializes in chronic pain management and women’s health physical therapy.

Ms. Connor earned a BA from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1996 and a master of physical therapy from St. Ambrose University in 1999. She has worked at The Nebraska Medical Center since 1999. She began her career in rehabilitation services as a staff physical therapist specializing in women’s health and outpatient orthopedics.  In 2004, she began working in the Chronic Pain Management Program, treating patients with a wide variety of chronic pain conditions such as back pain, migraines, pelvic pain and complex regional pain syndrome.  Ms. Connor has completed training in myofascial release, visceral manipulation, craniosacral therapy, and lymphatic drainage therapy, as well as numerous courses on musculoskeletal pelvic dysfunctions and pain science. She has lectured for the Clarkson College Physical Therapist Assistant Program, the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) OB/GYN and Urology Residency Programs, UNMC Advanced Practice Nursing Program, and AWHONN on treatment of urinary incontinence and pelvic floor dysfunction.  She has also lectured for Clarkson College Physical Therapist Assistant Program, the UNMC College of Allied Health Professions, and the Olson Center for Women’s Health on treatment of chronic pain and the role of cardiovascular exercise in promoting mental and physical health.  She is always looking for an opportunity to spread the word about the physical, emotional and cognitive benefits of exercise to anyone who will listen! 

Click HERE to learn more about the Chronic Pain Management Program, or visit: nebraskamed.com/pain/management-program