DVIDS – News – Oklahoma National Guard begins construction of wellness center with focus on holistic health

OKLAHOMA CITY – It all started on a piece of paper.

Members of the Oklahoma Legislature, Oklahoma National Guard and Oklahoma Military Department joined Flintco Construction at the Oklahoma City Military Complex on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, to break ground on the OKNG Wellness Center.

While the ceremony marked the official start of construction on the 30,000-square-foot facility, the Wellness Center began as a hand-drawn sketch on scratch paper during a conversation between Lt. Col. Montana Dugger, deputy chief of the OKNG’s Office of Construction and Facilities Maintenance, and Maj. Gen. Thomas H. Mancino, Oklahoma adjutant general, about building a place to bring together all of the OKNG’s resources dedicated to the mental and physical health of Guardsmen under one roof.

“I asked (Dugger) for the paper so I could frame it and hang it in the facility with the headline, ‘It all started with innovation and vision,'” said Col. Lindy White, deputy resilience director for the Oklahoma National Guard.

White and her OKNG Health and Wellness team were involved in the design process and will be involved through the project’s completion, allowing subject matter experts to provide input and feedback on the facility’s design and ensure Oklahoma Guardsmen have access to a comfortable and safe place to focus on improving their physical and mental health.

“It felt like a team effort,” said White. “We were warmly welcomed throughout the process and encouraged to provide feedback.”

The portion of the building dedicated to the fitness center will include a fully equipped resistance and mobility training area and physical therapy rooms, while the other portion will include indoor and outdoor meditation spaces, a chapel for religious and non-religious individuals, conference rooms, classrooms, a teaching kitchen, a coffee bar, and offices for OKNG’s health and wellness programs and services.

“By providing a chapel, classrooms and individual office space, our soldiers and their families have the opportunity to access many more resources,” White said.

For the first time, these OKNG programs and services will be under one roof. These include behavioral health, pastoral care, workplace equity, family programs, holistic health and fitness (H2F), integrated primary prevention, resilience, suicide prevention, substance abuse prevention and risk reduction, and sexual assault prevention and response.

“All of these services will finally have a home,” White said. “We want to focus on optimal performance and building optimal performers to improve individual readiness.”

To maintain a trained and ready force, OKNG leadership recognized that mental health is just as important as physical health. Building the Wellness Center and housing the OKNG resources that support these efforts in one location ensures Guardsmen have the resources necessary to continue supporting our state and nation.

“The new wellness center provides much-needed protective factors to Oklahoma Guardsmen so they can access essential services,” said Brittney Criswell, integrated primary prevention manager for the Oklahoma National Guard. “When designing the space, the Guardsmen’s top priority was to ensure the physical space provided accessibility and comfort that all could utilize.”

According to Criswell, it is an increasingly common practice to house multiple agencies under one roof, and Oklahoma is leading the effort.

“(Oklahoma) will be able to truly embrace the idea that there is ‘no wrong place to go’ when seeking services and support from the community,” Criswell said. “This will allow service agencies to better communicate and collaborate on important health and prevention efforts and meet the needs of our service members.”

In line with wellness components, the building was designed according to the WELL building standard and incorporates features from various concepts that relate not only to the design and operation of the building, but also to their impact on human behavior, health and well-being.

“(WELL) takes into account daylight, artificial light, air quality – so many different factors, so many different functions,” said Captain EJ Johnson, OKNG’s state coordinator for holistic health and fitness. “There are strict regulations and a minimum that must be met to qualify for (a WELL-oriented design). So the building itself will serve as a health component, as will the people and teams within it.”

“A biophilic design positively impacts the mental health and overall well-being of the people who come to and work at the facility by providing a sense of connection to nature and tranquility,” said White. “We want to create an environment that is welcoming and friendly, whether you’re coming to exercise, use one of our essential services or take a class.”

During the ceremony, Mancino thanked attendees and supporters of the wellness center, including Oklahoma Senators Roger Thompson, Brenda Stanley and Chuck Hall and Oklahoma Representatives Jason Lowe and Josh West, who rallied support for the facility and helped with the groundbreaking that officially began construction.

Members of the Oklahoma National Guard, Oklahoma Military Department employees, law enforcement officers and first responders can look forward to completion of the facility in late 2025.

“It means a lot to us to reach this milestone,” White said at the official groundbreaking. “We are incredibly grateful for the support of our Oklahoma legislators and senior leaders who have made it a priority to support the health and well-being of our Guardsmen.”

“It all started with an idea on a piece of paper and now through teamwork, collaboration and groundbreaking, we will see this dream become a reality,” White said.