FAQ

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This will be an ongoing list of answers to the questions submitted to us. If you have any questions, please email info@coloradocenter.com and we will be sure to get back to you quickly.

Q: What is the Health and Wellness Center at the University of Colorado?

A: The Colorado Center for Health and Wellness will be an innovative, state-of-the art research, education and patient care facility located on the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus. The Center’s mission is to empower individuals, communities and organizations to make sustainable changes to achieve healthier lifestyles so that high obesity rates and chronic disease no longer reflect the way we live as a society. Click here to read more about us.

Q: When does the Colorado Center for Health and Wellness officially open?

A: The building will officially open in the spring of 2012.

Q: Where will it be located?

A: The Anschutz Wellness Building will be located at the northwest corner of campus the Anschutz Medical Campus, at E. Montview Boulevard and Quentin Street. For more directions and information about hours and parking, click here.

Q: How will the Colorado Center for Health and Wellness benefit me? What resources will be available?

A: The Colorado Center will integrate research, education and patient care to provide a comprehensive program to optimize health for individuals, families and communities.

Key elements of the Colorado Center will include:

A staff of some of the world’s leading experts in health and wellness
State-of-the-art fitness facility, including classes, running track, aquatics and degreed fitness professionals
A bistro that will serve healthy food, available for eat-in, take-out or delivery
Classes and cooking workshops on healthy diets with leading nutritionists and endocrinologists
Weight management and nutrition services, disease prevention programs and wellness education
Connective Wellness (such as massage therapy acupuncture and more)
Health and wellness products for purchase
Research labs and equipment for cutting-edge scientific studies on nutrition and wellness

Q: Who will have access to the Anschutz Wellness Building?

A: The new building will be available for use by University of Colorado students, faculty and staff, as well as members of the community.

Q: How much will the Anschutz Wellness Building cost me?

A: While the pricing of the fitness center is still being negotiated, our main priority is making sure it is affordable for all members of our community.

Q: Will other CU campuses have access to the Center? Will any of the programs and services be accessible remotely?

A: The Center will offer distance wellness education to other CU campuses, and is working to offer distance weight management programming as well. The Center is exploring additional services that may be offered to other campuses, and will have more information available as we approach the opening.

Q: What is the status of construction (as of fall 2011)?

A: Due to cooperative weather and excellent project management, the project remains on target for completion in spring 2012. The construction of the Center continues to progress rapidly. Click here for more updates about the construction, photos and a video.

Q: I’ve heard the building will have a green roof. What exactly does that mean and what will it offer?

A: The green roof will allow the Center to grow its own fresh, healthy produce onsite, and is possible thanks to a generous donation of $650,000 from a fund established by the historic Nu Sigma Nu medical fraternity.

The “Nu Sigma Nu Green Roof” will be the focal point of the Anschutz Wellness Building’s larger Green Roof Events Center, which will provide a place for students, faculty and staff to congregate, relax, hold special events, enjoy healthy living and form social connections across classes and disciplines.

Q: I heard that Dr. Iñigo San Millán has been appointed Director of the Human Performance Laboratory. What will he and the Laboratory offer?

A: As the director of the Human Performance Laboratory, Dr. San Millán will use the latest tests, methodologies and approaches in Applied Exercise Physiology and Metabolism to help optimize the performance and improve the health of athletes and non-athletes alike. He will employ a unique approach, applying his 14 years of experience with professional sports teams and elite athletes to treat at-risk patients – those who are sedentary, unconditioned and even obese.

Q: What kinds of things has the Center been doing to engage the community?

A: The Center has recently participated in several events on campus and in the community to generate buzz and awareness about the new Center:

Bike To Work Day (June 22): The Colorado Center for Health and Wellness had a booth at the medical campus’ Bike To Work Day activities, featuring free bike tune-ups, bike fittings and the chance for registrants to enter a sweepstakes to win prizes including gift cards to Bicycle Village or gift certificates for health and wellness services at the Health and Wellness Center.
Destination Health Event (July 30): The Colorado Center for Health and Wellness had a booth at the Destination Health: Walk, Run, Learn event, which helped raise funds to alleviate the health disparities facing African Americans. Visitors to the booth could learn more about the Colorado Center for Health and Wellness and had a chance to enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win gift certificates for products or services at the Center.
Keeping Outstanding Women in Business Healthy reception (Sept. 26): The Colorado Center for Health and Wellness had an engagement station at this event for Denver’s leading business women, as recognized by the Denver Business Journal. Colorado Center for Health and Wellness highlighted its new healthy bistro, Bistro Elaia, which offered a healthy cooking demonstration. We also shared healthy recipes, a “Recipe Rehab” tip sheet and information on the new Center with attendees.
Free On-campus Lunchtime Yoga session (Oct. 3): The Colorado Center for Health and Wellness held a free on-campus lunchtime yoga session and engaged members of the campus community to come out and take a break from their normal lunch routine for an outdoor yoga session led by yogina, Angela Ewari.
Campus and local media roundtable and site tour (Oct. 6): The Colorado Center for Health and Wellness held a site tour and roundtable discussion to educate campus and local media about the Center. The event comprised an exclusive tour of the construction site, a discussion with the Colorado Center for Health and Wellness leadership team and a working lunch session, catered by the Center’s very own healthy Bistro Elaia.

Q: Who are the Center’s leaders?

A: All research, training and programs at the Colorado Center for Health and Wellness will be led by the largest and most talented and dedicated inter-disciplinary team in the field, including James O. Hill, PhD, executive director of the Colorado Center for Health and Wellness, professor of pediatrics and medicine and current director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Denver, School of Medicine. To explore more of our leadership, visit Our Team.

Q: How is the Center being funded?

A: The Anschutz Foundation awarded the University of Colorado Denver (UCD) a $15 million grant in May 2008, which was then matched by the University and the School of Medicine, to design and build a Health and Wellness Center on the Anschutz Medical Campus.

The funding for the innovative green roof comes from a $650,000 donation of from the historic Nu Sigma Nu medical fraternity.

The Center continues to explore partnerships and collaborations with additional organizations aligned with the Center’s goals. Click here to read about all of the opportunities for funding.

Q: How is the Center determining what the community wants and what it will feature?

A: An independent market research firm, KRC Research, is working with a private entity closely affiliated with the University to explore perceptions and attitudes of students, faculty, staff and local physicians about the currently under-construction health and wellness center. The research is exploring these audiences’ hopes and expectations when it comes to the Center and its services and features – to help ensure that the facility meets their needs. One key finding the research has demonstrated is that students, faculty and staff are interested in having healthy food options on campus, particularly for lunch, as well as clear, organized menus to enable busy individuals to find what they need quickly. These features, as well as many others discovered through the research, will be included as key features of the Center.

Q: I heard that Jim Ellis, the Center’s Director of Operations, delivered the keynote address at the 2011 Fitness & Health Bloggers Conference. Does the Center continue to engage the important blogger community?

A: The Center will be hosting the 2012 Fitness & Health Bloggers Conference on campus. This event will bring about 200 health and fitness bloggers together to discuss topics including physical activity, nutrition, healthy weight and the current state of science on each.

Other topics that will be discussed include:

The role of physical activity in individual and community health maintenance
Using physical activity to maximize weight reduction and weight-loss maintenance
Nutrition challenges beyond obesity in the American diet
Eating healthy within a modern lifestyle
Causes and consequences of overweight/obesity on the individual and nation’s physical and fiscal health
The changing role of technology in achieving and maintaining weight-loss

Q: What kinds of programs is the Center developing in preparation for launch?

A: The Center is currently developing programs focused on: