CAMPBELL, Ohio – A $15 million center that combines health, wellness, education, community engagement, and workforce development for children and families across the Mahoning Valley opened its doors Thursday – a project that officials say creates a model for the rest of the country.
“It’s about breaking down that barrier, giving them the opportunities to succeed, grow, and thrive,” said Matthew Bowen, superintendent of Campbell City Schools. “I think there’s a lot of interest in how we can do better for kids and families, how we can do more than just doing the reading, writing and arithmetic, because students aren’t ready to learn unless their basic needs are met.”
His solution is the Campbell Community Health & Development Center, an effort that stakeholders say reflects a true collaboration across multiple agencies and organizations dedicated to serving the region’s interests.
A ribbon-cutting event celebrating the facility’s launch was held on Thursday and attended by approximately 200 guests. The new center, at 444 Struthers Coitsville Road, is the culmination of years of work and planning that included partners such as Campbell City Schools and its Board of Education, the Governor’s Office of Appalachia, Akron Children’s Hospital, the Educational Service Center of Eastern Ohio, Youngstown State University, Northeast Ohio Medical University Bitonte College of Dentistry, Eye Care Associates, Sight for All United, Mahoning County Green Team, Goodwill Industries, the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, Delta Dental Foundation, and the Appalachian Children Coalition.
“Our focus is really meeting the needs of the whole family,” Bowen said. “This is a $15 million investment in the community that will serve the greater region.”
Funding for the project was made available through the $500 million Appalachian Community Grant Program, which the Ohio General Assembly and Gov. Mike DeWine established using American Rescue Plan Act funds. The Campbell project received a $10.5 million grant, the largest single allocation from the program.
“All of the lives that are going to change, the community impact, the school impact,” said John Carey, director of the Governor’s Office of Appalachia. “It’s really a model for the nation.”
Vision and Dental Clinics
The new center will house both a vision and dental clinic on the second floor, which serve both a clinical and workforce development function. The vision clinic was made possible through YSU, Eye Care Associates, and Sight for All United.
Two new mobile vision care clinics are also now commissioned and equipped with some of the latest advanced technology, said Dr. Sergul Erzum, co-founder and president of Sight for All United.
“We have a simple mission – we don’t think sight should be a luxury,” she told guests. “Everything we do is based around that.”
The vision care component at the new center offers three exam rooms on the second floor, two mobile vans, as well as a certified ophthalmic assistant training program through YSU. “We are going to be training students in this facility who are going to be able to go out in the community and get jobs immediately because there’s a desperate need,” she said.
Moreover, these students will be working with the most advanced technology in the industry, Dr. Erzum said, evidenced by its new mobile Advanced Diagnostic Mobile Eye Clinic, or ADMEC. The mobile unit has telehealth capability and the ability to diagnose disease and conditions that could cause blindness before the patient begins to lose their sight, she said.
More importantly, these resources would be integrated into the ophthalmic assistant program, making it the first of its kind in the United States. “There is no program that takes workforce development and combines it with preventative vision services,” she said.
A partner to operate the dental clinic should be announced soon, Bowen said.
The unit is the first of its kind in Ohio and one of just four across the country, Dr. Erzum said. “It’s actually the future of preventative eye care,” she said.
These new programs augment some of the other innovative health services that have already been available at its Community Workforce and Cultural Center next door.
Paul Olivier, Akron Children’s Hospital’s vice president, Mahoning Valley Enterprises, said the hospital opened its clinic there three years ago. “We’ve seen over 14,000 children in that clinic,” he reported. Moreover, the clinic has expanded its services to include a full-time mental health therapist, which makes it easier for students facing these challenges to seek help.
In addition, Bowen said that the Northeast Ohio Impact Academy would expand some of its programs to the new center, including a farm-to-table curriculum that incorporates hydroponic gardening.
Meeting Basic Needs
Other partners in the effort include the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley and Goodwill Industries, both of which now have a presence at the Health & Community Center.
Bob Hannon, president and chief professional officer at United Way of Youngstown, said the facility will house the organization’s 36th Care Closet, a program that distributes hygiene products, clothing and accessories to students in need. “Think of children going to school with their shoes not fitting, their clothes not fitting, they don’t have a toothbrush,” he said. “Our goal at United Way is to eliminate those barriers to learning. We’re not educators, but we can help.”
Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries also officially opened its new retail store in the building Thursday, said Shelly Murray, CEO. “We like to say we’re more than a store,” she said.
Revenue generated through Goodwill retail operations, which is more than 85 cents per dollar spent, helps fund employment, training and support services for individuals throughout the Mahoning Valley. Moreover, students will have the opportunity to experience work in a retail environment, she added.
“We’re a workforce entity,” Murray said. “We exist to empower individuals with barriers, to overcome them through education, training, and employment.”
Community Impact
Randy Leite, strategic advisor for the Appalachian Children Coalition, emphasized that Campbell’s Health & Community Development Center stands to make a lasting imprint on the Mahoning Valley.
“This is a place where students and families will be connected to primary care, mental health counseling, vision services – but also other resources such as food and other things they need,” he said. Alleviating anxiety and other pressures students face is also vital for families as a whole, he said.
Equally important is that the new center serves as a catalyst for education opportunities, Leite said. “A student who comes here for vision services may someday become an optometrist,” he noted. “A student who encounters a medical assistant might want to pursue that career.”
Aside from its health and education components, the Campbell Health & Community Development Center includes a family engagement element that fosters interaction, Superintendent Bowen said.
These features include recreational spaces on the first floor for duckpin bowling, two golf simulators, and a turf field with soccer goals at each end.
“We were able to leverage some additional funds and revenues in order to create a family engagement center,” he said. “It’s more than just the traditional approach to education. It’s about meeting the needs of the whole child.”
Pictured at top: Stakeholders cut the ribbon on the new Campbell Health & Community Center.