ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Maintaining one’s physical and mental health is becoming more and more important and recently, Seward County Community College took a step to help with just that for its students.
Last Tuesday, SCCC administration and staff hosted a groundbreaking in conjunction with its third annual Giving Day for its upcoming new Student Health Center. SCCC President Brad Bennett kicked off the event with some remarks.
“It's interesting because when I was interviewing in August 2021, VP Luke Dowell was my tour guide, and as we were walking down the sidewalk and came across this building, I asked him 'What's this building for?' and he said 'That's for storage.' I asked 'Storage for what?' and he said 'Mostly, storage for junk.' I knew we couldn't have any junk buildings on campus,” Bennett said. “When I got here, I started thinking about what we could do with this building, and we're just ecstatic for what it's going to turn into. It's neat to think we're turning what's been considered an eyesore for so long and creating something that will be so, so beneficial to our students. The west half of this facility will serve as a student commons area that will include a movie theater, study rooms and a full kitchen. We house many, many students on campus who don't have vehicles or any transportation, so for them to be able to come over here and fix a meal is a huge benefit to this campus. The east side will serve as the student health center. Last August, we hired a full-time student health counselor in Bethann Volden, and then last September, we were able to bring Lindsay Carter on as a nurse practitioner in order to help provide more of the physical health services, and we're so ecstatic to be able to have both of them here. As the father of two daughters, one thing I'll definitely be thinking about when they start looking at colleges is how they take care of their students. I'm ecstatic about this location since it's right by the dorms, and I couldn't be happier about this project. I also want to give a big 'thank you' to the SCCC Foundation board and the Board of Trustees for believing in this project. It took us a while to get to this point, but we're just so, so happy about it all. And I also can't say enough about the generous support we've already received, because without the community backing us up, projects like this wouldn't get done.”
SCCC Trustee John Engel also offered praise for the project.
“For the Rotary Club, the theme for 2024 is 'Create Hope in the World,' and that's from our Rotary International president, Gordon McInally. One of his calls to action concerns the importance of mental health and well-being. Mental health is the state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, live well and work well, and contribute to their community. This is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective ability to make decisions, build relationships, and shape the world. Mental health is a basic human right, and it's crucial to communities and economic development. The Liberal Rotary Club has always been an excellent giver to the Rotary Foundation and returns 25 percent of its gifts back toward community matching grants, and our historical giving to the SCCC Foundation will reach $240,000 this year.”
Engel also talked about the Rotary Club’s various causes.
“One of the Rotary Club's causes is basic education and literacy, and we just awarded $7,100 in scholarships this year. Another cause is community economic development, and our centennial project in 2023 was renewing Rotary Park at the airport with trees and other plants and benches at the terminal, and that was a $22,000 project,” Engel said. “Another Rotary Club cause is disease prevention and treatment – Rotary International has immunized 3 billion children around the world for polio since 1985, and as of Tuesday, we're down to one case in Pakistan. We've also provided diabetic testing and screening at the local health fair for several years, and soon, we'll be sending 25 ultrasound machines to the front in Ukraine for triage. Another Rotary cause is maternal and child care through our polio efforts and our long-standing Christmas party for children in Liberal. Another Rotary cause is peacebuilding and conflict prevention – Rotary International has a postgraduate ambassadorial scholarship program and peace centers throughout the world. Another Rotary cause is water sanitation and hygiene – again, our polio program emphasizes these, and these efforts help restrict the spread of the virus, and our club paid for a water well several years ago in the Philippines that's referred to as the Liberal Well. Our newest Rotary cause is the environment through our Rotary Park at the airport and other projects several years ago through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.”
SCCC Executive Director of Athletic Training, Fitness & Student Health Services Liz Hill also expressed excitement for the project.
“This is my 16th year at SCCC, and I distinctly remember having conversations with Veda King, our former director of nursing, about the need for student healthcare on campus. In that spirit, I want to share my appreciation for President Bennett and his unique vision for the overall health of SCCC students,” Hill said. “I'd also like to thank our team for treating and curing our students, and that includes Bethann and Lindsay. I also like to thank Arlette Austin for her assistance in helping set up all the administrative logistical stuff, and I'd also like to thank everyone who's already donated and shown their support in some way, and we appreciate any future contributions that will help our students have better access to healthcare services.”
Hill added the project has been in the works for more than a decade, and said she was very excited to see the groundbreaking officially happen.
“I'd had conversations with Veda King 14 or 15 years ago, and I'd also had some more casual conversations with Celeste Donovan when she was still here. And it wasn't like the idea was set aside or ignored, it was more of a situation where those discussions were more casual, and there were also multiple other projects in the pipeline,” Hill said. “When President Bennett came back, those discussions turned more earnest, and we knew this facility was something we needed now. We'd approached the idea during President Bennett's first term, but it was in his second term when the talks turned more serious and things started becoming more concrete. It's very exciting to have the groundbreaking officially happen now, and I’m so happy. We have a temporary location we've been using so far, but it will be great to have all of our providers under one roof. We also hope to have assistance in our office, whether that's student workers or someone in the community who can help manage the paperwork and documentation and all of that. With us having separate locations right now, that's been rather challenging to make sure everything is properly done, so it'll be wonderful to have everyone under one roof. We hope to have everything open in the fall, but when it does officially open, it'll be exciting.”
Hill also talked about the multiple benefits that will be seen from the facility being available.
“One of the best benefits of having everything in one place will be the fact that students will have one place to go when they're looking for healthcare. In the past, I've had students call and ask 'Where is the student health nurse?' or something along those lines, and I would have to pull up the campus map to properly show them where to go,” Hill said. “It'll be great for the students who live in the dorms because they'll be able to just walk across the lawn to get to the building. Having everything updated will be amazing, and we want to make this facility a welcoming place for everyone who comes in for care. And if there's a student who's in the throes of a mental health crisis, we will be right next to the nurse practitioner, so it'll be great having everyone under one roof. Bethann will be here from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and she was so full this past year, we're talking about potentially adding another component, whether that's with telehealth or another provider, and I'm expecting she'll be busy this coming year as well. Lindsay is contracted, so she'll only be here from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Thursday. There are some limits as far as time, but I feel like we'll be able to give some great help to the students who come in.”
Hill added staff will be working to make sure potential students and their parents know the facility is available for them.
“We definitely want all of our students and their families to know this facility is here for them to access if they need care. It's going to be more normal office hours, it's not going to be a 24/7 facility, but we will be here for students to come to if they need us,” Hill said. “And the care the students get here is absolutely free, and the only charge(s) would be if there's a referral for lab work or x-rays or things like that. We definitely want parents to know we're here and we're here to help them, and we're right here on campus. Any contributions toward assisting us with student health access on campus are greatly appreciated, and I look forward to being able to help our students. Healthcare in this country is NOT cheap, and since we're offering this to our students for free, any contributions would be greatly appreciated.”
