In August 2024, the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Graduate Medical Education office hosted a grand opening for its newly completed GME Wellness Center. The celebratory open house was attended by Heersink School of Medicine deans, faculty, UAB Hospital residents and fellows.
The center is a dedicated space for UAB Hospital residents and fellows with 24/7 keycard access. The center was made possible by a generous $500,000 lead gift from the UAB Heersink School of Medicine, UA Health Services Foundation and UAB Hospital and a gift of 3,348 square feet of space in the hospital’s West Pavilion.
“The UAB GME Wellness Center is a multifunctional facility centrally located in UAB Hospital designed to offer GME trainees a welcoming space to reduce stress and build community GME-wide,” said Alice Goepfert, M.D., associate dean for Graduate Medical Education. “With multiple resources and a design for comfort as well as social interaction, we are thrilled that the Center is finally a reality. We are truly grateful to the UAB Heersink School of Medicine, UA Health Services Foundation and UAB Hospital as well as many faculty, alumni and friend donors for their support of our residents and fellows.”
“The wellness center is useful to fellows,” said Danial Saleem, a general cardiology fellow. “It gives us another place to work and relax and just get away from the wards when we need to. It is so very useful, very relaxing, and I’m glad it was built.”
The GME Wellness Center houses five areas that cater to trainees’ specific wellness needs. The hospitality zone features a kitchen area with sink and refrigerator, as well as a seating lounge space. The study zone also provides trainees a quiet space to study for board exams or research cases.
Additionally, a room designated for mothers features lactation stations with equipment for pumping and refrigeration, while still giving trainees the ability to stay connected to their clinical cases. The multipurpose meeting zone offers enough seating for group collaboration and professional meetings, with the option to connect to a Zoom call through a podium computer.
Finally, the activity zone offers a treadmill, cardio bike, free weights, and space for yoga. The goal of this space is to provide trainees opportunities to attend to their physical well-being while on call or on long shifts.
The GME Wellness Center is now open for all UAB resident and fellow use. The keycard access will ensure that the space remains exclusively dedicated to these trainees. The Lister Hill librarians at University Hospital will continue to be housed in the offices adjacent to the GME Wellness Center and will continue to have employee access. If you need to contact the librarians, please call (205) 934-2275 or visit their website.