Ulysses Now Offers Dignity and Lactation Room at High School

Until you have challenges like that in your family or close to your heart, you would never think about this being needed. Someone has to though, because no one should have to live like that, without that support.”

Nancy Borthwick

There are those who see a need and then there are those who do something about it. It has taken a year and a half to two years, but now a project, near and dear to the heart of local resident Nancy Borthwick, has become a reality.

Borthwick, with Grant County LHEAT, took the initial project a step further.

"Part of the aspect of our Reach Grant for LHEAT, was a lactation room," Borthwick explained. "I thought if we are going to do a lactation room, why can't we also purchase an electric adult changing table?"

Borthwick approached the late Ron Smith with idea. Smith was a school board member for USD214. "I initially had gone to Ron about the idea, because he himself was not in good health at the time," Borthwick said. "I asked him what he thought about the idea and he immediately said he would make some phone calls."

Borthwick said Smith reached out to his fellow board members and they all agreed it was a "super idea". The project has been near and dear for Borthwick.

"My nephew is 18," she said. "He is in a wheelchair because he has Polymicrogyria. He wasn't supposed to live past 5 years old."

His mother is his advocate on every level of his life. He was unable to attend activities at the high school such as commencements and basketball games. In order to change his pants, he would have to go to the hospital and use a bed there or lay on the floor. When you are 18, that is undignified. It's different if you are 5 years old, but when you start getting to be a teenager - no one should have to do that."

Borthwick said her nephew was her "motivation" to make a change.

"He was my motivation to find something to make things better," she said. "We did some research and found there was no adult changing rooms in the State of Kansas, so we thought, 'why not put Ulysses, Kansas on the map?',"

"We looked around and at first thought maybe we would do a building, but the logistics was difficult," Borthwick said. "Who would be responsible for cleaning it, maintaining it, and how do we lock and unlock it for someone who may just be driving through? How would we be able to utilize it?"

"We asked the school if they happened to have a room where we could do all of this in since they had so many activities there," Borthwick said. "There were a couple of rooms we looked at, but we ultimately decided on the C team locker room.

According to Borthwick, the locker room was a "nice space" adequate to their needs for the privacy room.

At the time, she visited with then USD214 school superintendent Corey Burton.

"Corey was the first one we talked to about the privacy room," Borthwick said. "He decided that the locker room would be a good space. We agreed on it, LHEAT purchased the adult changing table, a lactation chair, and a refrigerator - almost everything that goes in there. We put up signage for it."

The privacy room is available for use now, but there are a few things left to do. "They've got the capabilities to use it right now," Borthwick said. "They are waiting on some rugs and they don't have the push button code piece to it yet."

Students and teachers who need to will be able to utilize the room," Borthwick continued. "There will be a code for the door and there will be a lock on the inside so when it is in use nobody else will be able to use a code to get in until they are finished."

Borthwick said they will be doing a special dedication ceremony for the privacy room.

"We will do a dedication with a plaque in honor of Ron Smith, probably closer to September," Borthwick said.

Borthwick has a great sense of accomplishment with this project coming to fruition. "It has been overwhelming and has been a long time in coming for the LHEAT group and me," she said. "We appreciate the school and school board for their support. I wouldn't have been able to do this project without their support and their push to get it done. I'm
thrilled we got it done."

Getting it done and making it available to those who need it is what is important.

"Until you have challenges like that in your family or close to your heart, you would never think about this being needed," Borthwick said. "Someone has to though, because no one should have to live like that, without that support."