OMAHA Two University of Nebraska campuses have joined forces to help
Nebraska communities achieve optimal health and well-being.
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and the University
of Nebraska at Omaha (UNOmaha) have launched the Collaborating Center for
Public Health and Community Service.
Located at 115 S. 49th Ave. in Omaha, the center is designed to promote
the health and development of Nebraskas populations and communities through
campus-community collaboration in education, training and service, said
B.J. Reed, dean of UNOmahas College of Public Affairs and Community Service.
It serves as home base for a number of small, community-based organizations
and projects whose collective long-term goal is optimal community well-being.
The center is based on a small business incubator model, Reed said.
The co-location of multiple programs allows them to achieve an economy
of scale to support their basic infrastructure needs, including: affordable,
accessible office and meeting space; telecommunications and computing services;
and basic administrative support.
It combines a strategic mix of university and community-led activities
that enhance one another when their small staffs are housed together,
said Magda Peck, associate chairman of pediatrics at UNMC. With its open
office environment and meeting space, the center is designed to reflect
the principles of communication and collaboration. It promotes a
neighborhood atmosphere that relies on shared resources and peer exchange.
The facility, which opened in December, is located in Omahas historic
Dundee neighborhood halfway between the two campuses. It is owned
and managed by Holland Basham Architects, which occupies the adjacent main
building. Non-university occupants are nonprofit organizations that
sublease space from UNMC for two-year periods.
The centers occupants have access to a shared telephone system and
fax, university-supported computing systems and the Internet, photocopying
and meeting space, Reed said. Other features include: a shared first-floor
receptionist who provides general secretarial support at cost; a community
conference room that accommodates up to 25 people and soon will be equipped
for teleconferencing; flexible, central space that can be used for larger
community meetings; and a project development room equipped with computers
that can be used for smaller meetings where intensive collaborative work
is necessary.
A second-floor community health reference room also is available at
CityMatCH, a national public health practice and research organization
based in the center, Peck said. Future plans for the center include a neighborhood
and community development resource library.
The Collaborating Center for Public Health and Community Service is
currently home to the following campus programs and community organizations:
– UNMC/UNOmaha Master in Public Health Program
– UNMC Department of Pediatrics/Section on Child Health Policy
– UNOmaha Public Administrations Community Service Program
– UNOmaha Public Administrations Municipal Clerk School
– CityMatCH
– Nebraska Educational Alliance for Public Health Impact
– Our Healthy Community Partnership (central offices)
– Nebraska Minority Public Health Association/Tobacco-Free Communities
of Color Project
– Neighborhood Builders
– Omahas Weed and Seed Strategy
– Omaha Neighborhood Development Center (proposed)
For more information, call Peck at (402) 595-1700 or Reed at (402)
554-2276.