San Juan College marked the opening of its Student Health Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, bringing a new era of improved physical and mental health services for students.
The ceremony started in the Zia Conference Room at the Health and Human Performance Center in Farmington, where college President Toni Hopper Pendergrass delivered opening remarks. She welcomed and acknowledged the administrators, dignitaries, members of the college Board of Trustees and the community for their support.
A news release from the SJC Marketing and Public Relations Department stated that the $2.2 million project was funded with a $1.1 million federal appropriation secured by U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez. The remaining funding came from state severance tax bonds, due to the local legislative delegation.
AJ Pacheco, a field representative from Fernandez’s office and an SJC alum, represented Fernandez at the ceremony. After Pacheco’s opening remarks, the audience watched a prerecorded video of Fernandez, in which she expressed her gratitude: “Thank you so much for letting me contribute to the development of this health care center and celebrate with you.”
Pendergrass highlighted the college's commitment to addressing students' insecurities, noting that the new health center plays a vital role in those efforts.
“We really want to address all our students physical and mental health needs,” said Pendergrass. “That’s why we constructed this facility. We’ve made efforts to address their housing insecurity, food insecurity, and now their health insecurities for their nonemergency health needs.”
To ensure accessibility, funding from the local legislative delegation supports 24/7 Telehealth services for mental health support, making these services available to all students.
Charisse Buchanan, the Student Health Center director and nurse practitioner, emphasized that the facility services are open to every student on campus.
“The health center services are free for all students,” said Buchanan. “Any student who is taking credit-bearing classes is eligible.”
The ceremony also offered tours, giving visitors the chance to explore the 2,652 square-foot facility, located between the Zia Conference Room and the HHPC. Chris Harrelson, senior director of physical plants at SJC, discussed the challenges of designing a space that would best serve both students and medical staff.
“The first challenge that we faced was where to put the addition, so it worked with our flow of students and serve them in the best way,” Harrelson said. “We talked through who’s going to work here and how many students are going to be seen.”
The health center includes two exam rooms, three offices for medical and behavioral health professionals, restrooms, storage areas and support spaces like a conference room for group therapy sessions.
Buchanan expressed her excitement about the convenience of location and how the spaces allow the staff to enhance their reach of care.
“We’re super-glad to be close to the Health and Human Performance Center,” said Buchanan. “In terms of the clinic, we’re excited to have space. We have a lab. We have a large medication room so we’re able to keep more vaccines and services for our students.”
Pendergrass said the college will evaluate the success of the health center based on student usage of its services. She hopes that high participation will lead to further improvements and the expansion of services for students on campus.
“We hope it will help with student retention so they can persist, complete, and graduate,” Pendergrass said. “So, if they’re here to earn a certificate or degree we hope that this service helps them do that.”
