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Mural adorns wall at DHS to recognize health center

Student arts honor society members at work

The mural that members of the National Arts Honor Society at Durango High School created on a campus wall this week calls attention to a surprisingly little known service – the school-based health center.

Four DHS students – Haley Wilhelmsen, Blake McClain, Kylie Cobb and Emily Rohren – spent Tuesday and Wednesday painting in vivid colors on the foyer wall of the DHS health center a virus they found on a microbiology website.

Turns out it was the herpes simplex virus, which was chosen simply for its colors, Haley said. The team wanted the mural to be associated with health, she said.

The National Arts Honor Society has painted 15 to 20 mural on campus walls over the years, Haley said. They are permanent displays.

All the other murals tend to be replicas of well-known works, she said. Among them are a Vermeer, two Jackson Pollack works and one by Katsushika Hokusai, a Japanese modernist.

Students have to be recommended by a teacher for the National Arts Honor Society, but they can join or not, Haley said. A dozen join annually, replacing graduating seniors.

The students work mainly in painting, drawing, sculpture and photography, Haley said. They organize art shows and work with galleries to gain exposure.

Ellen Stein, director of development at Axis Health System, hopes the mural helps get the word out about the health center.

Axis is the medical sponsor of school-based health centers at DHS and Florida Mesa Elementary School.

Any elementary, middle or high school student in La Plata County can be treated, Stein said. Students who need preventive measures, wellness checks, dental attention, immunizations and behavioral health care are seen, Stein said.

Colorado has 52 school-based health centers, Stein said. The DHS center had 1,200 visits by 304 students last year; the Florida Mesa site had 300 visits by 91 students.

daler@durangoherald.com



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