Million-step Monday — What’s your team doing?

What’s in a name? With monikers such as Psych Steppers (psychiatry), Sleep Walkers (Anesthesiology) and Step I.T. Up (Information Technology Services), it’s obvious that some thought went into some of the team names for the 1 Million Step Challenge. UNMC Today wants to hear the story behind your team names. Send an e-mail to today@unmc.edu or call UNMC Today Editor Chuck Brown at 559-8329 and let us know how you came up with your team name and what the moniker means.

Up here on the fifth floor of Swanson Hall (yes, Swanson has five floors), the venerable UNMC Public Affairs Department is taking this 1 Million Step Challenge pretty seriously.

Well, most of them, uhhh, I mean, us, are.

To motivate our team, PR 2 CR (Public Relations 2 Chimney Rock), we have built in department-wide incentives aside from the incentives offered by the Center for Healthy Living.

Here are some examples:

• PA employees get a little paper foot to post in their office for every 25,000 steps they walk;
  
• Each PA employee has been assigned another employee to motivate and encourage; and
  
• Employees meet to walk during the lunch hour a few days a week.

Pedometer power Replacement batteries for pedometers are available at the Center for Healthy Living for $1.

But enough about us. UNMC Today wants to hear about what other departments and teams are doing to increase their step totals. Send a blog entry to NeEtta Gillespie at ngillespie@unmc.edu to let others know what your teams are doing to speed their collective trips to Chimney Rock. These entries can be viewed on the Million-Step Challenge Blog.

The following is a list of UNMC employees who have recently reached one of the 250,000-step markers in the 1 Million Step Challenge. Send an e-mail to today@unmc.edu with your name, department and tell us what step milestone you reached and we’ll post it on the list.

250,000 steps

• Kathy Austin, ophthalmology and visual sciences
  
• Jean Beda, College of Public Health
  
• Jeff Broberg, sponsored programs
  
• Steve Byrne, sponsored programs
  
• Connie Curro, pharmacology and experimental neuroscience
  
• Cindy Ference, College of Nursing, Wellness for Women Project
  
• Lori Fuller, printing services
  
• Deanna Hansen, infectious diseases
  
• Stephanie Herbert, psychiatry
  
• Virginia Helget, Center for Biopreparedness Education
  
• Cheryl Kroenke, ITS
  
• Sheri Lash, information technology services
  
• Elaine Litton, infectious diseases
  
• Shelly Montgomery, psychiatry
  
• Keith Mueller, College of Public Health
  
• Ann Newman, Library of Medicine
  
• Jay Noren, M.D., College of Public Health
  
• Jan Ortmann, UNMC Benefits Office
  
• Kalpana Padala, M.D., geriatrics
  
• Prasad Padala, M.D., psychiatry
  
• Jenelle Pomicter, biostatistics
  
• Michelle Simon, Health Professions Tracking Center
  
• Jo Watkins, UNMC Benefits Office
  
• Kristin Watkins, Center for Biopreparedness Education
  
• Valarie Warner, sponsored programs
  
• Eric White, printing services
  
• YanYan Zhu, sponsored programs

500,000 steps

• Wanda Bauder, CRC
  
• Steve Byrne, sponsored programs
  
• Kathryn Feezell, budget analysis and financial compliance
  
• Tom Keenan, procurement
  
• Kim Laursen, ITS
  
• Kathy Minikus, College of Public Health
  
• Pat O’Neil, sponsored programs
  
• Bill O’Neill, public affairs
  
• Shelby Pracht, psychiatry

750,000 steps

• Julie Carstens, Munroe-Meyer Institute