- Video shows construction of the health clinic attached to Benson High School, set to open in Fall 2024.
- As students continue to take classes to prepare for the opening of the health clinic, Day Phlatoo and Hser Htoo, share what they are looking forward to the most.
- Benson High School partnered with Charles Drew, UNMC, Methodist Health, and Project Harmony to create a community health clinic. The clinic provides healthcare services and offers a learning opportunity for students interested in healthcare.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Benson High School is working with local organizations to tackle a problem that’s been around for decades.
The $6.6 million project will assist with the medical desert in North Omaha.
“What does that look like? Physical care, access to dentistry, mental health, it is wide and it is large. So the clinic will hope to put a dent in some of those needs and really fill that gap,” said Angela Johanek.
Johanek, who specializes in preparing Benson students for college and career, says the school has worked for years to find a way to help its community
“It will allow more people to have access to health care and will address the disparities in health care in the neighborhood," said Day Plahtoo.
The school is partnering with local health providers, Charles Drew, Methodist Health, UNMC, and Project Harmony to create a community health clinic where people can receive care and students can learn more about the healthcare field.
Day Plahtoo, a junior at Benson High school and a student in the health profession academy.
"I think the health clinic will give me that real world practice experience as a high school student which will give me a lot of advantage," said Plahtoo.
Hser Htoo, a freshman at Benson High School, who hopes to become a travel nurse one day said the clinic will offer services to her classmates and the community with easy access.
"A lot of people in the community and even students in the community…they suffer from mental health and if there’s going to be services there, that could be really helpful to them,” said Htoo.
According to Children's Health Care Report Card for 2023 in Nebraska, the number of uninsured children declined to the lowest levels on record in 2022 due to continuous COVID-19 protection coverage.
Now those numbers are back on the rise...since the coverage has been lifted.
Johanek says the school has spent seven years, giving students the opportunity to plan for their future.
Inside the clinic students will not only have the chance to be hands on but they will also be able to be the bridge of translation when it comes to community health care and language barriers.
