The Haggerty Family Foundation Facility for the Center for Well-Being celebrated its dedication and grand opening Wednesday.
The new center provides a holistic, integrated approach to the health care and well-being of the St. Thomas community in a single, centralized facility. A $2 million gift from the Haggerty Family Foundation made possible the extensive remodel necessary to turn the existing building into a place where the St. Thomas community receives comprehensive care and well-being resources.
"I am very pleased to be here with all of you on this historic day as we celebrate the opening and dedication of the Haggerty Family Foundation Facility for the Center for Well-Being," President Julie Sullivan said. "We are taking a bold step to respond to the increasing mental health needs of our students. ... Now that we have a combined team and one facility, every student can be treated holistically."
"Knowing the health and well being of students is so important to all colleges, but at St. Thomas especially, we are so proud to be part of this," Ruth Haggerty said. "It couldn’t have turned out better."
Located at 35 South Finn Street (between St. Paul’s north and south campuses), the new center is home to Health Services, Counseling and Psychological Services; and Health Promotion, Resilience, and Violence Prevention (formerly the Wellness Center and Violence Prevention and Awareness).
"The support for this initiative came from every single corner of the university. Everyone understood the importance of how impactful integrative, holistic care is for our students and our community," said Madonna McDermott, Executive Director of the Haggerty Family Foundation Facility for the Center for Well-Being. "This beautiful new building, and the highly-skilled professionals who work here, support a culture of health and well-being for our students and our community, and whose impact will be far-reaching."
The new center has a footprint of nearly 20,000 square feet. Health Services has 15 exam rooms; Counseling has 14 therapy rooms with expanded services. Health Promotion provides health education and wellness programming with an expanded focus on resilience.
With universities and colleges across the nation experiencing a significant increase in demand for mental health services, proactively caring for health and well-being is vital for students to be successful both in and out of the classroom. The enhanced and coordinated integrated care model at the Haggerty Family Foundation Facility for the Center for Well-Being takes a holistic approach to caring for students’ mental, physical, social and spiritual health.
The center is dedicated to enhancing a healthy and inclusive campus culture through collaboration, comprehensive health promotion and compassionate care that promotes lifelong well-being.
Tommie gets a checkup from Dr. Marilee Votel-Kvaal during the grand opening of the new Center for Well-Being on Feb. 12, 2020, in St. Paul. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)
