Kiwanis welcome Harrisburg school, Heartland Clinic officials

Harrisburg Kiwanis welcomed Harrisburg school administrators to their meeting on July 13 and followed that up with officials from the Heartland Primary Care Clinic on July 20.

On July 13, the Kiwanis heard from Superintendent of Schools Eric Witges, and District Curriculum Coordinator Natalie Fry. Witges was co-superintendent this past year with Mike Gauch; now that Gauch has retired, Witges is carrying on himself.

Witges reported that the new Bulldog Early Learning Academy for preschool children has been relocated to the grounds of the middle school. It has eight classrooms and a multipurpose room.

He said moving the program out of West Side School will not only free up space at West Side but will enable up to 120 children to be served in the new building.

Witges also discussed the renovations at Taylor Field and Chuck Hunsinger Stadium. Other improvements to district buildings include revamping the entire heating and air conditioning systems at both elementary schools and a new air conditioning system to be installed in Davenport Gym.

Meanwhile, Fry explained that all students, teachers, and other staff have received free lunches at school for the past two years. District 3 is designated as a "one-to-one" district and all students are supplied with chrome books. Middle school students will be able to choose electives in the coming school year, mostly extracurricular activities.

The district is part of the Rural Illinois Shared Education program where students may access classes at other schools if what they want to take is not offered at their high schools. Moreover, a new partnership between Harrisburg schools and Southeastern Illinois College allows students to receive college credit for trades classes.

A question-and-answer session between the Kiwanis and the educators ensued after the formal presentations.

Elizabeth Eversmann, FNP-BC (Family Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified) of the Heartland Clinic, accompanied by nurse practitioner Kalinda Dunning, was guest speaker at the Kiwanis weekly meeting at Morello's on July 20.

Eversmann opened her presentation with a brief personal history. She was raised in Harrisburg, graduating from Harrisburg High School before receiving her bachelor's degree at SIU Edwardsville and completing her master's degree at the University of Alabama. She has two grown children and lives in Harrisburg.

Eversmann has been a family nurse practitioner for 20 years and she joined Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion in November 2021.

In December, the Heartland Primary Care clinic opened in Parker Plaza, Harrisburg, while a new clinic building is being readied on Route 45 South.

That clinic, between The Glass Doctor and First Mid Bank branch, is scheduled to open in September. It will have 16 rooms for patient care and two rooms for procedures. Labs and X-rays will be available.

There will be two separate areas of the building. One side will be primary care, where Eversmann will see patients with appointments. The other side will be an express care, walk-in clinic operating 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. Dunning will be one of the medical personnel seeing patients in this area.

The clinic will take most insurance plans, Eversmann said.

Both women indicated they are excited to serve the people of the Harrisburg area in the new facility.