HUMBOLDT — The Humboldt school district in conjunction with the Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center, will receive nearly $5 million to build a multi-purpose health center and daycare facility.
The facility will include a daycare center, a center for virtual education, a health clinic that includes mental health services, and a pharmacy.
The new center will be built at the Humboldt Sports Complex on Central Street west of town.
The USD 258 school board will discuss the grant and their plans at a meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at the board office, 801 New York St.
“We’re very excited,” USD 258 superintendent Amber Wheeler said. “This is definitely a win for our community and the entire county.”
SEKMHC director Nathan Fawson said: “This is very much in line with our whole-person care initiative. We’ll be working on this together to provide care, education and support. We are honored and humbled to serve this community and we’re elated to receive this award.”
THOUGH DETAILS are still being worked out, the grant required applicants to address four components: health care, education, workforce development and child care.
The grant, awarded by the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund, was made possible by the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
Ashley Clinic, now under the umbrella of the mental health center, will provide primary care, pharmacy, mental health and case management services at the new facility. It’s still unknown if the clinic will maintain its downtown location, Fawson said.
SEKMHC will keep its mental health personnel in the schools, Fawson said, but the new facility could offer new opportunities for services. The mental health center provides services in each district in the county.
THE DAYCARE will offer 24 slots, two rooms of 12 each, in a “home-based” style. The district will primarily target infants and toddlers. Currently, the need is greatest for infant care. The school district will manage the daycare program, which means staff will be district employees and be eligible for benefits such as health care, retirement and life insurance.
The hope also is to offer paid apprenticeships in early childhood to high school and college students, who will work at the daycare.
The district’s virtual education program also will move to the center. That includes staff offices and study rooms.
Space also will be available to businesses, entrepreneurs and others who need to access broadband and computer services as well as meeting and training space.
“The idea is to offer a community center with a lot of wrap-around services,” Wheeler said.
