The med center’s Veterans and Military-Affiliated Employee Resource Group will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 17, at noon at Omaha National Cemetery as part of a special Wreaths Across America event.
A contingent from the group will gather at the cemetery, 14250 Schram Road in Sarpy County, on Saturday. The activity will remember and honor local veterans by laying remembrance wreaths on their graves and taking a moment to say the name of each veteran aloud, said Jerry Walker, PhD, psychology services manager with Nebraska Medicine, an adjunct assistant professor with UNMC and director of programming/education & events with the group.
Anyone interested in participating can email the Veterans and Military-Affiliated Employee Resource Group.
The joint UNMC-Nebraska Medicine group has been active for just over a year. On Veteran’s Day 2021, the employee resource group was announced, founded by Nebraska Medicine veterans and the spouses of veterans, Dr. Walker said.
Dr. Walker said the group provides a touchpoint for the military community across Nebraska Medicine and UNMC.
After leaving the military, veterans often have a hard time adjusting to civilian culture, particularly integrating into non-military work styles, expectations and structure, Dr. Walker said. The employee resource group helps provide a landing spot for new veterans to sort out those issues and find support from people who can understand their experiences, he said.
“Veterans have a wealth of valuable training, skills and life experiences that lend themselves incredibly well to medicine,” Dr. Walker said. “They’re hard working, they have impeccable attention to detail, they value both leadership and teamwork, and they prioritize ‘the mission’ — which for us is excellent patient care.”
Dr. Walker said he hopes the group will foster increased recruitment and retention of veterans at the med center.
To date, the employee resource group has held luncheons on Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day 2022, welcomed guest speakers from the Nebraska State Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and spotlighted members on Veterans Day.
In the future, Dr. Walker said the group would like to partner with local veteran communities and organizations and find new ways to support to veterans within the med center.
Dr. Walker stressed that the employee resource group is open to anyone affiliated with either Nebraska Medicine or UNMC. The group also is open to anyone who cares about the military community.
Anyone interested can email the Veterans and Military-Affiliated Employee Resource Group to join or for more information.