Dirt is already starting to move ahead of a huge addition to the Mahoning County Career and Tech Center's campus. A health and wellness center will be established next year.

Superintendent John Zehentbauer tells 21 News the facility will go a long way not only in serving students, but the general public as well.
He added that there's a bit of a health care gap in that section of Mahoning County between the campus, Sebring and Alliance that this will help fill.

The center will take up a 13,000 square foot space on campus.
It's all part of a five million dollar grant from the Appalachian Community Innovation Center, and a partnership with Mercy Health and Cadence Care Network.
That means the facility provide health and wellness services like primary and preventive care, as well as mental health care.
The center will also be a critical part of an upcoming LPN program at MCCTC.
It'll be open after-hours and is something Zehentbauer says MCCTC has been wanting to bring to campus for a few years.

"You know, a lot of times students had to leave and go home to get health care and simple health care that they needed or a doctor's office, and the fact that we're going to have it on site, on campus now, we think it's going to have a huge impact," he said.

An official groundbreaking is set for April 30.
Construction is set to be finished by August 2026.