School district says Wellness Center will be completed this fall – Portland Tribune

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PMG PHOTO: GARY ALLEN - Once housed in the high school's Building J, which along with Building H will be demolished in June to create science and CTE classrooms, the Newberg School District Wellness Center is moving to Building K next to the school's tennis courts.
As promised, the Newberg High School Wellness Center will get its new home before classes start again in the fall.
Once housed in the high school's Building J, which along with Building H will be demolished in June to create science and CTE classrooms, the Wellness Center is moving to Building K next to the school's tennis courts.
The school construction bond passed in 2020 will cover the cost of Building K's renovations. The initial estimated cost was $1.3 million, but due to construction issues the school district will be using a small amount of contingency funds to complete the work.


The Wellness Center is an offshoot from the Wellness Collective, a community venture that gathers and publicizes suicide prevention and mental health resources. The Wellness Collective, along with the Wellness Center, formed in 2019 as a response to the deaths of eight students from suicide in 2015 and 2016.
"We are so incredibly grateful to our community," Gregg Koskela, the school district's communications coordinator and bond manager, said in an email. "The partnerships with Yamhill County Health, Lutheran Community Services and Providence have literally been lifesaving to our students. They've gone the extra mile to work with us because they care about the mental and physical health of our students …"
As it now stands, the Wellness Center consists of three therapy offices, a group and family therapy room, an education center and a lobby area. All school district students have free access to the center's mental health services, including three on-site therapists and suicide screening protocols.
In other words, the Wellness Center provides a so-called "payer blind service" that allows any student, regardless of insurance or lack thereof, to get the help they need — and at no expense to the district.
"It's become a model for other schools across the state and it has become successful in suicide prevention," Koskela said.
After Building K's renovations are complete, the Wellness Center will also house the school's volunteer-run resource center that supplies students with food and clothes, as well as new medical exam rooms staffed by doctors, physician assistants and nurses.


"We started realizing there are also many students who do not have access to basic health care," Koskela said. "All of us know how hard it can be even with the best doctors and insurance to get an appointment with a doctor when you're sick or have an injury. Some of our students don't have a doctor and don't know how to access the Oregon Health Plan."
Thanks to Providence, every student in the district can obtain free medical appointments on campus.
"We're excited that this means all students in the district (not just high school students) will have another option for accessing basic health care when they are sick or injured," Koskela said. "Many students will just keep using their regular doctor, but for those students who never go to a doctor, there will be a new option."
He added that the Wellness Center will only provide basic medical care, not reproductive care.
Although Koskela said the school district is not planning any more additions to Wellness Center, they are considering expanding mental health and medical care access to students' family members if the recent changes are successful. This decision would give parents, guardians and siblings another option if they are unable to get an appointment with their primary doctor.


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