LA VISTA – John Arch formally announced he will run for the Nebraska Legislature in Sarpy County’s District 14. District 14, primarily made up of Papillion and La Vista, is currently represented by State Senator Jim Smith, who cannot run again due to term limits. Smith has endorsed Arch in his bid to represent the district. John Arch is a Republican.

For the past twenty-three years, Arch worked for Boys Town in its health care division. He currently serves as Executive Vice President of Health Care and Director of the National Research Hospital and Clinics. He announced to the Boys Town Board of Directors and employees his intention to step down from his present responsibilities at the end of 2018. Prior to working at Boys Town, Arch served as Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Omaha’s Saint Joseph Center for Mental Health.

“I look forward to getting to know the voters of District 14,” commented Arch. “I believe my experience, and record of service would be an asset in the Legislature.”

Some of Arch’s priorities as a member of the Nebraska Legislature include broad-based tax relief – including property tax relief – for hard-working families and businesses, reducing red tape and regulations to make it easier to create new businesses and jobs, and improving educational opportunities for Nebraska’s students and parents.

“We are a small population state, and the only way we can ease the burden on our citizens is by growing our economy, bringing in new businesses and creating more quality jobs. To do so, we must reduce the tax burden, improve the business climate, and make sure we provide a well-trained and prepared workforce,” added Arch.

John Arch has been married to his wife Brenda for thirty-nine years and he has two sons, two daughters-in-law, and three grandchildren. Brenda has served as a substitute teacher in the Papillion La Vista School District since 2003. John and Brenda have lived in Papillion and La Vista since 1990.

Boys Town National Research Hospital held a ceremony this week marking the completion of a $16 million, nearly 40,000-square-foot expansion of the Residential Treatment Center on its campus near 139th and Pacific Streets.

The hospital opened a 34-bed Residential Treatment Center on the campus in 2013. The expansion adds a new wing with an additional 46 beds as well as a new location for Boys Town’s outpatient Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic and a connecting lobby. The original Boys Town Residential Treatment Center currently located at the hospital on North 30th Street, which is significantly smaller in size but houses the same number of beds, is being relocated to the new facility.

BOYS TOWN, Neb. — With the cut of a ribbon on Thursday, Boys Town expanded its medical campus to accommodate 80 patients.The new $16 million facility aims to help children with the most severe psychological and and behavioral problems.

“We saw the therapeutic impact of a new facility and realized we needed to move the one from downtown and build that new facility,” said John Arch, the director of Boys Town Research Hospital and Clinic.

With modern bedrooms and plenty of space, Arch said healing can begin.

When Spanish is your native language, a noisy American classroom can be daunting. You may not understand what the teacher is saying amid the cacophony.

If you also have hearing loss, your perception suffers even more.

But what’s a bigger problem: the language barrier or the hearing loss?