For Arthur Center CEO Brock Lough, making the best use of a scarce resource is what community is all about.

That is why Arthur Center has officially partnered with Williams Family Support Center-Head Start, signing a memorandum of understanding Aug. 11.

Head Start is a Central Missouri Community Action program that provides developmental and learning services free for children, birth to 5 years old, from low-income families.

“Head Start does great things, we do great things and partnering those services together is a great opportunity to get kids on the right start early on,” said Kerri Ferrari, lead of school based initiatives at Arthur Center Community Health.

As part of its partnership with the Arthur Center, Williams Family Support-Head Start, located at 801 E. Breckenridge St. in Mexico, hosted a wellness event Aug. 27.

“We cater a little bit towards federal guidelines to attend Head Start,” Ferrari said.

One such federal requirement for children in Audrain County are yearly lead level tests, and as part of their MOU, the Arthur Center provided the finger-prick test at the health screening event.

“We’re just wanting to make sure we can help ensure that these kids are being screened and getting the services that they need to be a part of this program,” Lough said.

But the screenings didn’t stop there.

Parents and guardians were greeted by Patricia Voshell, site coordinator at CMCA Head Start, with a “passport” indicating the screening and educational stations set up around the Williams Family Support Center.

The stations included height/weight, BMI, vision, hearing, dental, blood lead level, and hemoglobin screenings, all necessary to use the services Head Start provides.

“They’re required to do it and we thought, that’s a lot of stuff we do,” Lough said. “If these people do need a primary care provider of a dentist or an optometrist, they can have that fit with us if they so choose.”

CMCA also had a car seat station for parents and guardians where car seat technicians Brook Daugherty and Amber Snyder demonstrated car seat safety and provided free car seats to families in need.

The health screening event was free aligning with what Lough calls the Arthur Center’s creed - providing services to people regardless of their ability to pay.

“We never want that to be a factor for somebody to not come in and get health services,” he said.

Services are better together

Since stepping into his role as CEO of the Arthur Center a year ago, Lough has reiterated that services are better together and he sees Head Start as a strong partner.

The belief echoes through the Arthur Center’s “whole patient” approach to healthcare.

“The Arthur Center has been known for behavioral health for a large part of our history, which makes a lot of sense,” Lough said. “We’ve been serving this community for over five decades and we started in behavioral health.”

The Arthur Center began as a department at the Audrain Medical Center in Mexico before branching off 20 years ago.

Its journey as an institution that focuses on more than just behavioral health began with primary care and gynecological services and has since added dentistry and optometry.

“We’re starting to dabble in obstetrics now, expectant mothers, and then we also have pediatrics,” Lough said.

In May 2024, the Arthur Center opened its Montgomery City location.

“We are trying to replicate the model that we have here in Mexico where we treat the whole person,” Lough said. “Having the person that’s working on your mouth also be the person that you’re doing therapy with (and) also controlling your cholesterol is very beneficial because they are all collaborating together trying to get you the best outcomes.”

From a business standpoint, Lough considers it a big win.

“When we have a person in the clinic, we’re cross-selling multiple services,” Lough said.

Lough officially celebrated his first year as CEO in July and said he plans to continue making the Arthur Center’s resources known and available to its community.

Editor's note:  This story has been updated to correct Patricia Voshell's title.