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Public affairs mission at forefront of new MO State clinic

Clinic Director Lauren Hembree speaks during the Collaborative Care Clinic grand opening.
Jesse Scheve/Missouri State Univiversity
Clinic Director Lauren Hembree speaks during the Collaborative Care Clinic grand opening.

Two clinic directors discuss how increased services and patient access help expand community reach.

Our weekly program, Missouri State Journal, is a collaboration between KSMU Radio and Missouri State University. It's hosted and produced by Missouri State's Office of Strategic Communication, and it airs each Tuesday morning at 9:45 on KSMU.

Missouri State University recently celebrated the completion of a project that offers interprofessional education and community-centered health care. Last month, MO State officially cut the ribbon on the Collaborative Care Clinic.

The renovated space in the Ann Kampeter Health Sciences Hall brings together multiple clinical services in a modern, centralized facility designed to enhance student learning.

In this special two-part episode, clinic directors Lauren Hembree, director of Counseling Services, and Lauren Jones, director of Speech-Language-Hearing Services, talk about how the clinic came to be and how it benefits the Ozarks.

“I think this adds an accessibility component for people that may either run out of insurance benefits or have a limit on how many sessions you can receive,” Jones said.

Jones noted the clinic is “in the spirit of Missouri State’s Public Affairs Mission.”

“Just for mental health, there’s such an increased need, but there’s long wait lists, there’s insurance hurdles, and these spaces offer an easier way for people to get the help that they deserve,” Hembree added.

The clinic is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays and 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays.

Next week, we’ll continue our conversation on the Collaborative Clinic as we dive into its impact on Missouri State and helping grow future health care professionals.

Read the full transcript.

Emily Letterman has worked at Missouri State University since 2023 and is currently the public relations strategist in the Office of Strategic Communication. A longtime journalist with over a decade of reporting on southwest Missouri, she has a bachelor’s degree in English literature from MSU.