Thomas M. Heiser, M.D. Strength & Fitness Facility
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.
Dr. Heiser personally made a donation to the Center for Healthy Living, and – along with James Neff, M.D., the then chairman of the UNMC Department of Orthopaedic Surgery – spearheaded a campaign to help raise funds for the center.
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 Dr. Nick Heiser, 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 come to Omaha to attend the grand opening ceremony. The expanded strength and fitness area in the new facility will continue to bear Dr. Heiser’s name.
Ruth and Bill Scott (lead donors to the renovation of the Center for Healthy Living)
Ruth and Bill Scott are deeply rooted and invested in the Omaha community. They contribute to its progress, health and vitality in a quiet but exceptional way.
Bill Scott is a 1953 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Business Administration. The Ashland, Neb., native joined Buffett Partnership in 1959 and Berkshire Hathaway in 1970 where he remained until the early 1990s.
Prior to that, he was a bank examiner with the Nebraska Department of Banking; a member of the investment department at Banker’s Life in Des Moines; a money manager in Detroit, Mich.; and a trust officer at U.S. National Bank in Omaha.
Ruth Scott earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1951. She went on to teach school and later founded the Omaha Bridge Studio where she teaches "the game she loves so much."
The generosity of the Scotts is seen throughout the state. Their personal and foundation's financial support has touched more than 150 local and statewide organizations.
Much of their generosity has been extended to educational institutions. All four of the University of Nebraska campuses have been touched by the Scotts. In addition, Creighton University, Metropolitan Community College, Bellevue University, College of Saint Mary, and Omaha Public Schools have received their support.
The Scotts' generosity also has extended to Educare, Children's Scholarship Fund, Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, Visiting Nurses Association, Health Center Association of Nebraska, Project Harmony, The Salvation Army, and Collective for Youth.
In 2009, the Scotts received the University of Nebraska Board of Regents' most prestigious award, the Regents Medal. In 2016, the Scotts were recognized by the Omaha Press Club as the 150th Face on the Barroom Floor, an honor that is given to newsmakers who have had an impact on the state.
The Scotts' investment in UNMC has been transformational. Over a five-year period, they were instrumental in creating a new academic campus at UNMC in an area bounded on the east by 40th Street, on the west by 42nd Street, on the south by Emile Street and on the north by Dewey Avenue.
They have supported UNMC building projects with major gifts to:
- Renovation and expansion of the Center for Healthy Living, which is part of the Student Life Center;
- The UNMC Center for Drug Discovery;
- The Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education;
- The Harold M. and Beverly Maurer Center for Public Health and creation of an endowed chair in Dr. Maurer's honor;
- The College of Nursing Center for Nursing Science in Omaha;
- The Health Science Education Complex in Kearney, Neb., for the College of Nursing and the College of Allied Health Professions;
- The College of Nursing facility that will be constructed in Lincoln;
- The Ruth and Bill Scott Student Plaza, including an architectural feature by world-renowned architect and artist James Carpenter;
- The Lauritzen Outpatient Surgical Center's fourth level, which will house the UNMC Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, its research laboratories and educational spaces and a new center for telehealth;
- The Durham Research Center and Durham Research Center II;
- The James O. Armitage Lymphoma-Leukemia Precision Medicine Program at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center;
- The Ruth and Bill Scott Presidential Chair of Internal Medicine;
- The Frederick F. Paustian Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center; and
- The Nebraska Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research.
We are Nebraska Medicine and UNMC. Our mission is to lead the world in transforming lives to create a healthy future for all individuals and communities through premier educational programs, innovative research and extraordinary patient care.