UNMC opens new center to help seniors age successfully
Successful aging is about living where you want to live, doing what you want to do and enjoying a full life. It’s about preventing future illness and improving quality of life with small changes that bring big rewards. The Home Instead Center for Successful Aging at the University of Nebraska Medical Center offers this and more.

The partnership between UNMC and Home Instead Senior Care reflects these goals as each strives to help seniors live healthier, happier lives.

“We have the same global goal in mind – to help people live life to the fullest,” said Jane Potter, M.D., professor and chief of the division of geriatrics and gerontology at UNMC. “That is the spirit of what we do in geriatric medicine and it is the same focus at Home Instead Senior Care.”

The $10.2 million facility, funded entirely by private donations, creates a centralized location for geriatric medicine and psychiatry on the UNMC campus. It is located just south of the Weigel Williamson Center for Visual Rehabilitation at 38th Avenue and Leavenworth Street. 

UNMC officially dedicated the new center July 26. It will open to the public on Sept. 13. 

Services offered at the Home Instead Center include geriatric medicine, psychiatry and access to clinical trials involving geriatric-specific disorders.

It also includes a wellness clinic for health screenings and nutrition services and a Community Education and Outreach Center that houses a fully equipped fitness and exercise area.

“The first wave of baby boomers turns 65 next year and wants to stay independent in their own homes as long as they can,” said Sharon Brangman, president of the American Geriatrics Society. “Programs that support wellness and healthy aging are very important. A center like this is really looking at seniors and what their needs are. It’s innovative and I hope it becomes a model for other parts of the country.”

The building is named for Home Instead Senior Care, the world’s largest private provider of non-medical home care to seniors. Home Instead was co-founded by the center’s principal donors, Lori and Paul Hogan, who made their gift through the University of Nebraska Foundation.

“We share a common goal with UNMC, Dr. Potter and her team – to help people age more successfully. That’s why this distinct relationship between Home Instead and UNMC holds such tremendous promise,” said Paul Hogan, founder and chairman of Home Instead Senior Care. “We are confident that by working together we can find solutions to truly help seniors age more successfully.”

To make an appointment in medicine call 559-9600, in psychiatry call 552-6007 or for information on the wellness program call 559-6117. To make a gift directly to the center go to nufoundation.org/homeinstead.