It's mid-morning on the Episcopal High School campus, and the doors of the deButts Health and Wellness Center are swinging open with quiet regularity. A student slips into a Wellness Room to gather herself before her next class. Another pops in just to say hello and grab a piece of candy from the counselor's dish. Down the hall, a third settles into a sunlit office for a virtual session with an off-campus therapist. By day's end, between 25 and 35 students will have passed through — each finding exactly the kind of support they need, in exactly the way they need it.
This is what comprehensive wellness looks like when a school decides to put it at the center of student life.
A Legacy Rooted in Giving Back
Episcopal High School opened its doors in 1839 on 100 acres just west of Alexandria, Virginia, welcoming 35 young men into a community built on honor, academic distinction, spiritual growth, and service. Over 180 years — through wars, depressions, and sweeping social change — EHS has not merely endured. It has flourished, shaping generations of students prepared to lead ethical lives in an interconnected world.
One of those students was Jesse W. Couch, Class of 1940. The lessons he learned at EHS — that caring for others is the greatest service one can render — guided his life and continue to guide the foundation that bears his name. When the opportunity arose in 2023 to support EHS's bold new vision for student wellness, the J.W. Couch Foundation recognized it as something more than a grant. It was a homecoming.
Reimagining Health in a School Setting
The EHS faculty and staff didn't want simply to build a better infirmary. They envisioned a facility that would treat the whole student — mental, physical, and emotional — and embed a culture of wellness into the fabric of the school. The deButts Health and Wellness Center is the embodiment of that vision.
The center features an advanced school health clinic, a medication dispensary, and a sophisticated eight-bed infirmary providing around-the-clock care. For students living away from home, and for the families who love them, that kind of attentive medical presence offers real peace of mind.
The Heart of the Center: A Place to Be Known
At the heart of the building is the Jesse W. Couch Counseling Center, named in loving memory of the foundation's founder. Here, mental health is not an afterthought tucked into a back office — it is a full-service space designed to feel safe, warm, and welcoming.
The J.W. Couch Counseling Center is, first and foremost, a warm and welcoming place. The light, art, and decor in our offices are inviting and conducive to reducing stress and improving mood. Students regularly drop by to say 'Hi' or to grab a piece of candy. The center has come to be known as a friendly space where one is sure to get support at whatever level that might be."Joey Halm, Assistant Director of Counseling
For too long, mental health was overshadowed in traditional academic settings. At EHS, it now sits at the forefront — alongside programs and resources that teach students how to manage stress, build resilience, and maintain healthy lifestyles long after they leave campus.
A New Standard for Student Wellness
The deButts Health and Wellness Center is more than a building. It is a statement — that the well-being of young people is inseparable from their academic and personal growth, and that schools have both the opportunity and the responsibility to care for the whole child.
We believe this center will set a new standard for health care in schools across the country. And as EHS continues to shape young people of intellectual and moral courage, we are honored that Jesse's spirit of compassion lives on in every student who walks through those doors — whether they come seeking care, conversation, or simply a piece of candy and a friendly hello.
