The WAY (Wigton-Aita-Young) Clinic was a private psychiatry practice in Omaha founded at the turn of the century and managed by three generations of preeminent local medical families.
In 1910, George Alexander Young, Sr., MD, opened a private neuropsychiatry practice in Omaha, Nebraska. At the same time, Harrison Alonzo Wigton, MD, was returning to his private general practice at 1820 Vinton Street after post-graduate psychiatry studies in Vienna. The two gentlemen, who had previously worked together at the State Hospital in Lincoln, decided to unite under one roof. By 1918, both men were also volunteer faculty members of UNMC’s Department of Nervous and Mental Diseases, finding a strong partnership in the classroom and the clinic.
As their partnership grew, so did the Wigton and Young families. In 1933, Richard Hart Young, MD, joined his father and Dr. Wigton in practice. A few years later, Robert Spencer Wigton, MD, and George Alexander Young, Jr., MD, did the same, joining the clinic in the mid-1940s after service in World War II. It is at this pivotal moment in 1946 that John A. Aita, MD, joined the team. Originally from Iowa, Dr. Aita had also just returned from military service in World War II when he joined UNMC’s Department of Neurology and Psychiatry. Because faculty positions were still unpaid volunteer work, Dr. Aita also sought out a full-time opportunity with a private practice. Working closely with the Drs. Wigton and Drs. Young at UNMC, Dr. Aita became a natural addition to their clinic.
With this expansion of practitioners came a need for new offices. Previously operating out of the Medical Arts Building at 15th and Dodge Streets, the team found a new home at 49th and Douglas Streets. The new location and the addition of Dr. Aita also provided an opportunity to rename the practice, becoming known as the WAY (Wigton-Aita-Young) Clinic.
While the senior Dr. Young and Dr. Wigton retired in the 1950s, the second generation of Wigtons and Youngs, along with Dr. Aita, kept the practice going. They added new partners, including Harlan Hermann, MD, Robert Dale Jones, MD, and Robert Ellingson, MD, as well as counselors and psychoanalysts. In the early 1970s, George Alexander “Lucky” Young, III, MD, and John F. Aita, MD, became the third generation to join the practice.
Much like the Nebraska Psychiatric Institute, the WAY Clinic was groundbreaking for providing outpatient treatment and services for individuals with mental illness. Many of the partners were also attending psychiatrists at the Omaha area hospitals, including Methodist, Lutheran, Clarkson, St. Joseph, and University Hospital.
The WAY Clinic came to an end in the early 1980s with the retirement of Dr. Robert Spencer Wigton, Dr. John A. Aita, and Dr. George A. Young, Jr. However, the lasting impact these families had on the study and practice of psychiatry in Omaha continues. Learn more about each individual and their own journey connected to the WAY Clinic below.