In response to student concerns, the WVU Student Health Service will change its operationsand will move to a larger and more convenient space by next fall.
Effective immediately, the student clinic will stay open through the lunch hour and will no longer close for staff meetings. Appointment hours will be extended beyond the current closing time, and more walk-in services will be provided, said Fred Butcher, Ph.D., Heath Sciences interim vice president.
During our public forums in the fall, and in follow-up focus groups with students, we encountered some frustration with the operations and the facilities in Student Health,said WVU President Mike Garrison.This was reinforced by data that shows that WVU students use campus health services far less than at other universities of similar size.
Students have pointed out the need for change,Garrison promised.We will make some changes immediatelyand by fall, we hope to have the clinic out of the basement in Health Sciences and in a location that is accessible and convenient.
Discussions are in progress to join the clinic with the WVU Family Medicine Center, which occupies a spacious ground-floor area at the front entrance of the Health Sciences Building. Although there have been discussions of a new student health building for several years, the university is at least two years away from constructing such a center. As health care delivery models changeand students utilize other types of service centers, like WVU s new urgent care center, the plan for a new health center may be adapted.
WVU is also planning to hire a clinical director for mental health and counseling services to strengthen the connection between Student Health and the Carruth Center for Counseling.We need to make sure that our services in this important area are coordinated,Garrison said.
Garrison appointed a student health implementation team to continue to move forward with improvements in both student health and counseling services on campus.Student health is an integral part of the campus community,he said.Ive asked three WVU students to join this group so that its focus can be held very tightly to resolving issues important to the student body.
The student members are Allison Sutherland and Lisa Costello, of the Student Health Advisory Board and Jason Parsons, student body president. Ken Gray, vice president for student affairs, and Dr. Butcher will co-chair the implementation team. Other members will be:
TEXT -INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in”>Jan Palmer, M.D., Student Health
TEXT -INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in”>Cathy Yura, Carruth Center for Counseling
TEXT -INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in”>James Arbogast, M.D., Family Medicine
TEXT -INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in”>Dan Durbin, Finance
TEXT -INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in”>Jeff Neely, M.D., UHA
TEXT -INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in”>Liz Reynolds, Planning and Treasury
TEXT -INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in”>John Vanin, M.D., Student Health
The group will be asked to move quickly to evaluate and implement several other proposals that have surfaced as a result of student inputincluding the potential for access to medical services at other locations and expanded times, a greater coordination between counseling services and medical services, and the ongoing evaluation and improvement of student health services.
Garrison will host a public forum on student health issues April 1, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., in the Vandalia Room of the Mountainlair.