University of Nebraska at Omaha

Omaha, NE

VISION

The vision of the University of Nebraska at Omaha Wellness Subdivision (Campus Recreation, Counseling and Psychological Services, and Health Services) is to be a catalyst in making UNO the healthiest campus it can be through collaboration with faculty, staff, students, and the Omaha community by providing desirable wellness programs and services. The Wellness Subdivision staff, program, services and facilities are recognized locally, regionally, and nationally as leaders in providing services in health, counseling, and recreation.

FACILITIES & PROGRAMS

The University of Nebraska at Omaha Wellness Center is housed in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (HPER) building on the University’s Dodge Street Campus. The original HPER building was opened in 1980 and housed the School of HPER and Campus Recreation. It underwent a $38 million dollar renovation in 2010. This state-of-the-art facility now houses not only the School of HPER and Campus Recreation, but also Health Services, and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) all of which provide numerous facilities, services and programs that encourage overall wellness and student success.

There are a number of programs and services to make sure that there is something to help members of the UNO community reach their wellness goals in a way that works for them. Campus Recreation programs include weight rooms, the pool, group exercise, intramurals, outdoor ventures, sport clubs, aquatics, instructional programs, and injury, prevention, and care. Counseling and Psychological Services is dedicated to working with students, faculty, staff to provide services that can assist with challenges that have impacted their overall wellbeing. These could include adjusting to life events, relationship issues and mental health changes. Counseling services are confidential and all conducted by Licensed Mental Health Practitioners. Health Services offers a wide array of medical services, on-campus, with board certified professionals. They accept student and family insurance plans when they do have to charge for their services.

Wellness Center amenities include the following with 240,000 square footage of space: climbing wall, counseling and psychological services, dance lab, two double gymnasiums, elevated jogging track, fitness areas, golf and archery lab, health services, indoor spa, men’s and women’s locker room, injury prevention and care, MAC court, massage room, Mav-Rec Café, multipurpose rooms, outdoor venture center, personal training, pool, spinning room, racquetball/squash courts, 43,000 square feet of indoor field turf.

FUN FACTS

The Senior Director for the Wellness Center, Joseph Kaminski, was UNO Campus Recreation’s very first Graduate Assistant in 1980.
Intramural Sports: Offering over 20 sports year round including: Flag Football, Basketball, Soccer, Volleyball, Table Tennis, Floor Hockey, Golf and much more! There are opportunities for teams to compete in State and Regional level tournaments. We hire and train student officials year-round for the various sports leagues that we offer.
Sport Clubs: Students can continue to compete at high levels in the sport that they love with over 10 active clubs ranging from Archery to Ultimate Frisbee. Sport Clubs are student-led and organized. Most clubs compete locally and regionally against other universities.
Strength & Fitness Programs: The weight rooms average 35,000 guest visits per month!
Group Exercise: Group Ex offers over 40 classes per week during the school year and almost as many in the summer for students, faculty and staff. We also offer Group Ex classes to groups across campus such as sororities, fraternities, student organizations, international student groups and more. We have 10 certified Personal Trainers that are studying exercise science or a related field as their degree. We have designated zones for power and Olympic lifting, plyometrics, cardio, core, relaxation and meditation and more.
Outdoor Venture Center (OVC): The OVC runs programs both regionally and nationally. It has been coast-to-coast, as far north as British Columbia, and as far south as Baja California. The last two years have seen it backpacking in Utah and the Smoky Mountain National Park, sea kayaking Apostle Islands National Seashore, rock climbing in Colorado and Arkansas, and whitewater rafting in Colorado. These programs have involved over 1,250 students and community members. There have been over 22,000 guest visits in the climbing wall Climbing Wall, and the OVC student staff taught over 600 individual belay classes in the same time.
Counseling and Psychological Services: CAPS services are free to any enrolled student at UNO. They offer individual, group, and couples therapy as well as crisis management. Students and staff do not need to have a mental illness or be in crisis in order to utilize CAPS. Four times as many men as women die by suicide, but women attempt suicide up to three times more often than men.
Health Services: UNO Health Services practices a collaborative model of health care delivery that includes general medicine, women’s health, psychiatry, psychological services including counseling, alcohol and drug evaluations and treatment, as well as athletic trainers. We are the home to an active Collegiate Recovery Community for students attending UNO who share a culture of compassion and wellness for individuals in recovery from addiction.