MALVERN – Brown Local Schools and Aultman Health will hold a groundbreaking Tuesday for the new Malvern Community Learning and Wellness Center.
The 6,800-square-foot, school-based wellness center will provide comprehensive services including access to health care, mental health care, addiction and recovery services, CARE Team Services and physical fitness activities for staff and community members.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to build a wellness center to benefit our students, employees and community. This initiative will reinforce our ongoing commitment to focusing on the whole child,” Brown Local Superintendent Mark Sott said in a prepared statement.
“This will be an opportunity to build on our excellent partnerships with Aultman, Springvale Behavioral Health, Pathway Caring for Children, United Way CARE Teams and the ADAMHS Board of Tuscarawas and Carroll County,” he added. “We will also be able to offer a gym that all members of the community can access so they can focus on living a healthy and balanced lifestyle.”
The groundbreaking ceremony will take place at 9 a.m. at the Brown Local Schools campus, 3242 Coral Road NW.
The project will be paid for through $3,514,100 in grants, the district said.
The Appalachian Children’s Health Initiative, announced by Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted, is investing more than $64 million in dozens of projects to improve access to health care in 36 communities across 20 Appalachian counties in Ohio. It is the largest investment in school health services in Ohio.
The wellness center will be open on weekdays year-round, officials said. Students will be given priority, but the center will be able to serve staff and community members.
The wellness center will include a school-operated preschool classroom to increase high-quality early learning services to the Malvern community, as well as a leadership and career laboratory to serve the school district and community for leadership and workforce development.
FMD Architects of Fairlawn is the project architect. Beaver Constructors of Perry Township is the construction manager. The project is expected to be completed by August 1 and completed by August 19 in time for the 2025-2026 school year.
This article originally appeared in The Repository: Brown Local, Aultman Health prepares for groundbreaking wellness center
