Jayme Nekuda wants University of Nebraska Medical Center employees to walk to western Nebraska’s Chimney Rock.
No, Nekuda hasn’t been spending too much time on the treadmill — she simply wants medical center employees to take part in UNMC’s 1 Million Step Challenge. The unique event, which is being called a "virtual tour," will allow employees to complete the cross-state walk without leaving Omaha.
"Employees should find this challenge a simple, practical and fun way to increase and monitor their activity levels," said Nekuda, who is manager of UNMC’s Center for Healthy Living.
Here’s how it works:
- UNMC employees obtain and wear a device called a pedometer, which counts the number of steps a person takes;
- At the end of each day, employees record the number of steps that particular day in a log book;
- Walking 250,000 steps is roughly the equivalent of walking from Omaha to Aurora, 500,000 steps represents the distance between Gothenburg and Omaha, 750,000 steps equates to a walk from Omaha to Chappell and one million steps represents the distance between Omaha and Chimney Rock.
The goal is for each participating employee to log at least 1 million steps over the next year, Nekuda said.
"Employees should try to improve their activity levels each week by adding any kind of healthy, safe movements to their lives," she said. "If someone reaches the 1 million step milestone before a year, they can keep moving toward the 2 million step mark and maybe even onwards toward 3 million steps."
Prizes will be available for employees at every 250,000-step interval (250,000; 500,000; 750,000; etc.), Nekuda said. The prizes — which can be viewed online at www.unmc.edu/cfhl by clicking on One-Million Step Activity Challenge or in person at the Center for Healthy Living (CFHL) — include books, socks, t-shirts, gym bags and lunch totes.
Employees also are encouraged to form teams of walkers, Nekuda said.
After each member of a particular team reaches 1 million steps, the team will be recognized in the UNMC Today employee online newsletter. Also, the first team to have all its members reach 1 million steps will receive a pizza party.
The challenge begins Tuesday and ends May 14 of next year.
The cost to purchase a pedometer and logbook is $9. If an employee already has a pedometer, the logbook is free. Contact Nekuda at 559-8448 or jnekuda@unmc.edu for more information.
"We are confident that by following through on this program employees will see steady improvements in their energy and health," Nekuda said.
UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through its commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology and ophthalmology. UNMC’s research funding from external sources is now nearly $80 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 2,400 highly skilled jobs in the state. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes more than 460 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties. They practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center, UNMC’s teaching hospital. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.