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Polk County Education 12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 13, 2016 WOU breaks ground on health center Student Health and Counseling Center expected to be completed in spring 2017 By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer MONMOUTH — Western Ore- gon University will soon have a new facility for the Student Health and Counseling Center, scheduled for opening in spring 2017. Cam- pus officials held a groundbreak- ing ceremony Friday, which in- cluded a blessing from tribal elder Bob Tom. The center will be built with in- creased student tuition fees, but associated student body president Alma Pacheco said it is exactly what the students want. The student government con- ducted two surveys of students re- garding the new facility, Pacheco said. “The first survey we got 300 re- sponses,” she said. “We got more than 80 percent approval from those students, and we still weren’t sure about the support, so we asked the student body again, to make sure those students were completely sure this project should go on, even though it’s going to cost us a little more money in our tuition. Still, over 70 percent said yes.” Jaime Silva, director of the cen- ter, said the new building will allow him to increase staff for both med- ical and mental health services. During the 2015-16 academic year, the center provided 4,257 medical appointments and 4,554 mental health appointments. According to a student survey, 62 percent of students considered the medical services very impor- tant to their success and retention, Silva said. Mental health services were considered very important to EMILY MENTZER/ Itemizer-Observer The Western Oregon Student Health and Counseling Center plans to be completed and opened in the spring of 2017. EMILY MENTZER/ Itemizer-Observer Tribal elder Bob Tom blesses the ground during Western Oregon University’s groundbreaking ceremony on Friday. success by 80 percent of those sur- veyed. “One of the things we’re very ex- cited about with the new facility is we’ll have more space, and plan for future expansion of our staff to provide more services to our stu- dents,” Silva said. The center will re-instate offer- ing reproductive and sexual health services, paid for through federal money as part of the C-Care pro- gram, or the Oregon Contraceptive Care program. Also, Silva announced that the center’s three nurse practitioners are working to become sexual as- sault examiners, meaning any Western Oregon student who is a victim of sexual assault may be ex- amined on campus instead of trav- eling to Corvallis or Salem. The new building will help pro- vide space for these programs. Pacheco said she was glad uni- versity leaders saw the need to build a new center rather than re- model the old one. The old building hasn’t always been ideal, Pacheco said. EMILY MENTZER/ Itemizer-Observer Western Oregon associated student body president Alma Pacheco speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday. “Sometimes we have to share a room, and it’s a bit uncomfort- able,” she said. Bob Tom, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde tribal elder, said when Native Americans gather to bless a house, they like to talk seri- ously about the building and the responsibility of the people in that building. “You’re not a father until you have a child. When students come into this building, I hope that it be- comes a two-way thing; counselors with degrees, it’s great that we have them, but still, they need to con- tinue to grow and learn,” he said. Tom said once the building is open, he hopes the staff will learn from the students, as well as help- ing them. “I hope that once that building’s up, that once in a while they’ll sit down and talk about what this building’s about, and just renew that goal of working for our stu- dents,” Tom said.