LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Henderson’s new health and wellness center is the first of its kind, providing medical and mental health services for city employees and first responders.
The newly open clinic is something Deputy Police Chief Jonathan Boucher believes will help first responders take care of themselves.
“We’re lucky enough to be ahead of the game and we’re putting our people first so they can get out there and put our community first,” Deputy Police Chief Jonathan Boucher said. “A lot of other first responder agencies are seeking to do something like this. Mental health in the last couple years has been more of a pressing issue as we seen it come to the forefront. Officers are at a substantially higher risk for suicide even after their careers so we want a healthy officer from beginning to end.”
It’s something Chief Boucher sees often, even recalling how one of his colleagues suffered a heart attack.
“This guy again is a young guy, late 40’s goes to his physicals every year, gets checked out every year and just wasn’t caught so we’re looking at expanding those capabilities and we’re expanding the testing,” Chief Boucher added.
The center will also provide medical evaluations, vaccines and more. For those seeking mental health services, there’s even a side door that people can use if they want privacy.
To help with preventative and aftercare, the clinic hopes to eliminate long wait times to see a doctor, ensuring people get the help they need immediately.
“A lot of it is the proactive approach, it’s not just your original physical or your original appointment, it’s now hey linking you up with other doctors if you have issues that we need you to take care of,” Chief Boucher added.
Part of that link is Jeffrey McClish, Henderson’s public safety wellness manager
“I would say what you commonly see most perhaps is anxiety, depression, calls for service, there’s almost an increase in calls for service and there’s just a wear and tear on the person in responding to these events,” McClish explained.
McClish is responsible for overseeing the health programs for first responders like the Vitanya program, which increases brain performance and reduces PTSD.
“We maintain a very open dialogue with our first responders, we have two people from Henderson, police and fire who serve as lifeline coordinators so they’re our initial connection to folks out on the floor or on the road and we try to normalize the mental health conversation so they do walk in and seek the help they’re looking for,” McClish said.
