Degree Wellness Makes Recovery Part of Your Routine
Liz Rease was done.
After years of grinding through a high-pressure healthcare staffing career from behind a home office door—the long hours, the constant stress, the restful sleep that eluded her—she hit a wall that felt less like burnout and more like a reckoning. “I’m at the back end of my career,” Rease told herself, “but there’s a lot of work left in me, and I want to do something more meaningful.”
She also knew it wasn’t just her who was white-knuckling her way through the day. “I wasn’t the only one feeling burned out, stressed out, losing sleep,” she said about her turning point. “I was looking for something that would make me happy in a career—but that would also help people experiencing the same thing.”
What she found was Degree Wellness, a fast-growing national franchise that offers an arsenal of recovery therapies—infrared sauna, cold plunge, contrast therapy, cryotherapy, red light therapy, IV drips—all under one roof and one membership. Open for just over a month in a new commercial center at 172nd and West Maple in Omaha, Rease’s franchise is the tenth Degree Wellness location in the country and the first in the Midwest.
And if the early buzz is any indication, it may be exactly what this city didn’t know it needed. Early returns have exceeded even her own expectations. “Most of the time, it’s both physical and mental,” Rease said of the uplift members report after regular visits. “They notice better energy, improved sleep, less stress—just an overall sense of feeling more like themselves again.”
Step inside Degree Wellness and the first thing you notice is what’s missing: the noise, the crowds, the hustle, the vague smell of a gym locker room. In its place is a quiet, intentional space where every room is designed to do one thing: Help you feel better when you leave.
The centerpiece is contrast therapy, offered in private rooms each equipped with a sauna, a cold plunge tub, and a shower. A small fridge stocked with water and a towel drop offer thoughtful amenities. The alternating heat and cold work together to reduce inflammation, support muscle recovery, aid in detoxifying the body, and—perhaps most importantly for the chronically overextended—deliver a genuine mental reset.
“We have a mom who comes in a couple times a week and does contrast therapy,” Rease said. “She told us it’s helped her mental health so much—just helping to reset, get out of the house for a little bit, help with her energy. Little stories like that make it all worthwhile.”
For those who want to push the recovery deeper, the cryotherapy chamber takes things to another level. The whole-body chamber can drop up to negative-175 degrees, and sessions up to 3 minutes and 45 seconds long help boost immunity, fire up metabolism, and knock out aches and pains. “It’s one of my favorites,” Rease said with a grin. Members agree, like the client who has worked cryotherapy into his every-morning routine and leaves “hooting and hollering, he feels so good,” Rease added. “He says it’s the best part of his day.”
Red light therapy rounds out the physical recovery offerings—two full-body panels work to support skin health, reduce inflammation, enhance muscle recovery, and improve sleep. Members who incorporate it regularly report it’s become a non-negotiable part of their routine.
Then there’s the IV lounge, where registered nurses administer targeted drips designed for metabolism, pain relief, beauty, energy, and immunity—with vitamin booster shots available for members short on time. The setting is private and unhurried, designed to support a more proactive approach to wellness rather than a reactive one. “If they’re feeling run down, our RNs can recommend what might be best for them,” Rease said. “Each one is tailored to what their goals might be—there’s not a lot of guessing involved.”
Rounding out the menu: light facials with settings for both anti-aging and acne treatment, and a recovery lounge where members can decompress between sessions, grab some oxygen, and—more often than not—strike up a conversation with someone who came in feeling exactly the way they did. “Before, if you wanted a sauna, you’d have to have a membership, and then if you wanted IVs, it was another membership. It’s nice to have everything under one roof.”
Here’s the part that might surprise you: None of this is meant to be a rare treat. That’s the quiet but persistent message Rease wants Omaha to hear: The therapies offered at Degree Wellness aren’t spa-day splurges only for special occasions. They’re tools for your body. And like any tool, they work best when you use them regularly. “It’s not something you just do every once in a while as a luxury,” Rease explained. “It’s something you should be adding into your wellness routine several times a week.”
It’s a reframe that runs counter to the way most people think about saunas and cold plunges and IV drips. The cumulative effect of contrast therapy, red light, cryotherapy, and IV nutrition isn’t fully realized in a single session. It builds. It compounds. After a few weeks, it starts to feel less like self-indulgence and more like maintenance—the same way a workout or a good night’s sleep stops feeling optional. The dream has always been bigger than the services themselves.
“My vision was to create a space that felt elevated, but still welcoming—where people could come in, take a break from everything, and genuinely feel taken care of,” she said. “Not rushed or overwhelmed. Just supported.”
Rease is also deliberate about who she’s building this for. While many people associate these services solely with athletic performance recovery, they extend well beyond that. The space is designed just as much for the overwhelmed parent, the burned-out professional, or anyone who feels run down and ready for a reset.
“You don’t have to be an athlete or into extreme wellness,” Rease said. “If you’re tired, overwhelmed, or just want to feel better in your day-to-day life, this is for you.”
