{"id":106067,"date":"2023-12-14T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=106067"},"modified":"2023-12-13T15:24:50","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T21:24:50","slug":"john-hauser-to-retire-from-safety-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2023\/12\/14\/john-hauser-to-retire-from-safety-post\/","title":{"rendered":"John Hauser to retire from safety post"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Safety is everyone\u2019s responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the mantra UNMC Safety Manager John Hauser has shared with the med center community for the past 40 years. From severe weather awareness, emergency alerts and tobacco-free campus guidelines to pedestrian crossings, fire extinguisher training and respirator fit testing, Hauser has been the go-to safety expert across the UNMC and Nebraska Medicine campuses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Dec. 19, the med center community is invited to celebrate Hauser\u2019s tenure during a retirement tea from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Dr. Leland and Dorothy Olson Atrium inside the Wigton Heritage Center. Remarks will begin at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSafety is everyone\u2019s job,\u201d Hauser said from his Shackleford Hall office, which is lined with safety awards that spill into another room. \u201cIt\u2019s not me; everyone plays a part.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Hauser\u2019s part, he has worked within a clinical environment most of his life. While in high school, he first worked in the kitchen at Saint Joseph\u2019s Hospital, then trained as an orderly and later worked night shifts in sterile processing and supply. While earning a Bachelor of Science in business administration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, he accepted the hospital\u2019s opening as a safety assistant \u2013 and never looked back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1983, the Omaha native who grew up four blocks east of the UNMC campus was hired as a safety officer at what was then University Hospital. When UNMC and Clarkson merged in 1997 to form what is now the Nebraska Medical Center, he became a hospital employee because the need for safety oversight was greater on the clinical side. In 2008, he also became a full-time safety operations leader for UNMC because of rapidly expanding research facilities and capabilities that required UNMC to increase its safety efforts and regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great place to work,\u201d he said. \u201cI love the diversity of the job and have worked with a lot of great people.\u201d His last day on campus will be Dec. 22, and others in environmental health and safety will carry on the safety focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJohn has profoundly impacted the safety culture of both UNMC and Nebraska Medicine\u2026and been an active voice for those with safety concerns,\u201d said Pat Wortmann, executive director of environmental health and safety. \u201cIt will be difficult to replace someone with so much institutional knowledge, but true to form, John has been diligently working with many of us to pass on his knowledge.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly Johnson, safety specialist in environmental health and safety, agreed. \u201cJohn has been a tremendous leader for safety on our campus. His willingness to share knowledge and expertise will be something I treasure for years to come.\u00a0I can’t thank him enough for everything he has taught me during the past decade of working together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 40 years, Hauser is a walking textbook on Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards, decontamination protocol and fire codes and regulations. He knows every nook and cranny of the med center campus, visits each UNMC campus at least one a year, and has taken every opportunity to educate employees on environmental health and safety issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Close your eyes and you can hear him say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n