Benson Excessive Faculty to supply a wide range of medical care with new $6.6 million addition

Benson Excessive Faculty will quickly obtain a face-lift so as to carry essential well being care providers to college students, workers and the group.

The college is nearing the beginning of a $6.6 million development venture, which features a two-story well being care addition and renovated north entrance.

Omaha Public Colleges officers say this would be the first school-based clinic within the district to accommodate a number of a number of well being suppliers.

The Charles Drew Well being Middle, Methodist Well being, Challenge Concord and the College of Nebraska Medical Middle are splitting the ten,000-square-foot area that can serve each the varsity and the Benson neighborhood. College students will be capable to obtain low-cost or free providers relying on the supplier, in response to the district.

“It’s simpler for a lot of dad and mom to have these providers on the finish of the varsity day or the start of the varsity day,” stated Charles Wakefield, chief operations officer for OPS. “They’re there anyway, so it’s form of tying that collectively to make it as straightforward as doable for households. It’s additionally a spot our college students belief as properly — it’s not some nondescript constructing out in a neighborhood that they’re nervous about.”

The Benson Excessive addition begins with a glass-paneled, trendy north entrance. The constructing could have a plaza space with sculptural seating that additionally can be utilized for outside instruction.

A 2,500-square-foot Charles Drew Medical Clinic, that includes largely dental providers, will probably be on the primary ground. It’ll have two dental bays, three examination rooms and a studying area, which will probably be shared among the many college and all 4 suppliers.

A big stairway in the primary entrance results in the second ground, which incorporates places of work for Methodist, Challenge Concord and UNMC, a shared break room and one other studying area.

Neighborhood members, workers and college students will be capable to entry household remedy, instructor coaching and pupil coaching — resembling parenting courses — by Methodist. Challenge Concord, a useful resource for youngster abuse providers and coaching, will supply psychological well being and remedy periods.

As a part of Benson’s well being professions academy, UNMC will handle student-led public well being initiatives and pupil analysis tasks.

“College students will probably be form of interacting and study what actual well being professionals saving lives is like. It’ll assist them perceive what that’s as they transition by school to develop,” Wakefield stated.

The OPS board authorised the venture at a Nov. 28 assembly. Development is deliberate to start this summer time and has a completion date of September 2024.

The concept to carry extra providers to Benson Excessive began with two alumni: Paul Brown and his spouse, Djel Ann Brown, each from the category of 1958.

Brown stated the pair, together with different alumni, seen all through the years that Benson college students weren’t capable of entry well being care as simply as different college communities.

“It was clearly one thing that was a really intense want within the college, so we set about fundraising, and we solicited our classmates, to begin with, after which we had been capable of get some some main donations,” Brown stated.

Brown and different classmates fashioned the Benson Basis in 2019 and ultimately raised $300,000 for the venture. Nevertheless it wasn’t sufficient and planning stalled.

“We started lowering the dimensions of the addition to attempt to make it a possible goal. And whereas we had been going by these revisions, I bought a name from Superintendent (Cheryl Logan),” Brown stated. “She stated, ‘We wish to have the varsity district accomplice with you in creating that well being care middle.’”

Together with the muse’s cash, the district will probably be utilizing federal COVID-19 {dollars} to fund the venture.

“It’s a strategy to give again, and it’s simply very fulfilling to have the ability to see these items taking place,” Brown stated.