Campus services anticipate Wellness Center move

In an effort to keep all wellness departments under the same roof, Student Health Services will be moving from their current location in Beeson Hall to the new Wellness Center at West Campus.

Health Services, along with Counseling Services, will make the move in December after the Fall 2011 semester. Rachel Sullivan, the university health educator, claims the move will allow Health Services to provide new features and more room to serve the students.

“The students will have a larger waiting area with computers. We want students to feel like it’s a nice place and that it’s not unfriendly,” Sullivan said. “The lobby with have TVs with both Bobcat Vision and regular TV. We think the computers will be a huge help.”

The new location will also feature six patient rooms—an improvement on the four rooms currently available. Health Services is exploring the option of allowing students to make appointments online combined with the current walk-in policy. Health Services has already moved to having electronic medical records and expects that the move will help them to be completely electronic. There is also discussion on finding funding for X-ray equipment.

“We have a room set up for X-rays, we just aren’t sure when the funding will be available for that,” Sullivan said.

Health Services is also considering new features they can offer the students such as spray tanning and massages.

Health Services will be located in the Wellness Center along with Counseling Services and Intramurals in order to have a central place students can go for anything involving wellness and health on campus.

“We are excited to be getting a new building,” Sullivan said. “And we already work closely with the depot and counseling so it will be nice to be closer together. We are also looking into doing sponsorships with Intramurals.”

SGA President Zach Mullins said the move “is part of the holistic section of why we created the Wellness Center.”

Along with the benefits and new features accompanying the eventual move there are concerns that Health Services has.

“Parking will be an issue,” Sullivan said. “It’s going to be hard because we are central to campus now.”

Sullivan said they are worried students will be less likely to come because they will be unaware of where to find them. They are also anticipating how to remain an important force on campus and are continuing to provide the programs they have had in the past—a challenge now with the need for transportation to central campus.

Beeson Hall, which is a mostly empty and partially-condemned building, according to Sullivan, requires cleaning and renovation before it can house any other department.

“I believe the long-term goal is for it to become a facility for the Early College Program, although I’m not sure where the funding is on that,” Mullins said.

With the anticipated new features and adjustment to a new building, Sullivan wants students to understand “your quality of care hasn’t changed, just the location.”