Teaching the Foundation for Wellbeing  

Nebraska Methodist College and TWP have shared years of great partnership promoting a culture of health in our communities and supporting a lively worksite wellbeing culture.  It’s been my great fortune that my career journey has taken me from an internship with Methodist Health System to now Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness at Nebraska Methodist College. Overseeing strategic, space and facility planning along with the college’s institutional research and outcomes departments are significant parts of my role.  Moreover, I am proud to carry on NMC’s involvement in the TWP Board and continue to build on the foundation for wellbeing at the college and in the community.  

Nebraska Methodist College, established in 1891 and located in Omaha, Nebraska, is an accredited, private, not-for-profit nursing and healthcare college.  With an enrollment of over 1,200 students, NMC is small enough to truly care about each student and large enough to provide outstanding undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs in nursing and allied health. 

Producing skillful and caring healthcare professionals is what we do really well at NMC.  In recent years, we’ve seen longevity in these healthcare careers, especially nursing, dramatically decrease.  Healthcare professionals, particularly those on the front lines of the Covid-19 pandemic, are experiencing overwhelming stress, anxiety and depression. To counter this trend, NMC aims to teach future healthcare professionals the foundations for wellbeing so that they may better manage the pressures in their healthcare careers.   

In alignment with this goal, NMC plans to open our new Wellness Engagement (WE) Center (pictured right) on campus in January 2022.  The cornerstones of the WE Center are fitness, nutrition, mindfulness and connection, and below are examples of activities under each cornerstone.

Fitness: 

  • New fitness equipment 
  • Group fitness studio and ability to display virtual fitness programming 
  • Walking & running groups, fitness challenges and incentives 

Nutrition: 

  • Collaborate with NMC’s Deja Brew dining services to create accessible nutritional options 
  • Free cooking classes featuring nutrition forward options 

Mindfulness: 

  • Yoga, Tai Chi and other mindfulness classes available in the WE Center group studio 
  • Work/study retreat area encouraging relaxation and a few moments to clear the mind  
  • Promote mental and emotional health services through visibility, workshops and activities 

Connection: 

  • Education on healthy relationships 
  • Promote an environment that is positive, judgment free  
  • Celebrate successes 

The WE Center will be an environment where students can learn and practice caring for themselves so that they can go out into the community and care for others. I attribute the growth and sustainability of NMC’s worksite wellness culture to being a committed TWP member and involvement in the Board.  I am very excited to translate these best practices to our future healthcare professionals. Teaching our students to care for themselves so that they may care for others starts with understanding the foundation for their own wellbeing. 


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Published November 15th, 2021