The Center for Healthy Living originally opened in 1996. At the time, the weight room was named in honor of Tom Heiser, M.D., a Lincoln orthopaedic surgeon who earned his medical degree at UNMC in 1979.
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Nick Heiser, M.D. |
A native of Columbus, Neb., Dr. Heiser was known as “Touchdown Tommy” for his ability to find the end zone during his high school football career. He went on to play wingback for four years on the Nebraska Cornhusker football team, ending his playing career in 1975.
In 1990, he suffered a spinal cord injury while surfing in Hawaii and was paralyzed. At age 62, Dr. Heiser continues to practice at Nebraska Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine in Lincoln, where he has worked since it opened in 1987.
Although unable to perform surgery since his accident, Dr. Heiser continues to work, utilizing his diagnostic knowledge and experience in managing the care of his patients. For many years, he served as a team physician for the University of Nebraska and assisted many Lincoln high school athletic programs.
Dr. Heiser’s son, Nick, is a 2008 graduate of the UNMC College of Medicine and joined the UNMC faculty in 2014 as an assistant professor in the department of anesthesiology.
“My father had a true commitment to fitness,” said Nick Heiser, M.D., who will speak at the grand opening ceremony. “It was this commitment that probably helped him survive his accident.”
Dr. Tom Heiser and his wife, Nancy, will attend today’s grand opening ceremony. The expanded strength and fitness area in the new facility will continue to bear Dr. Heiser’s name.