By Ame Phitwong
In an effort to accommodate more students, the UP Health Center recently reduced most appointment times by five to 10 minutes, said Paul Myers, director of the Health Center.
The Health Center determines appointment times based on students' medical needs. For example, a student with an ear ache would see a nurse for 20 minutes prior to the change, but would now be scheduled for a 15-minute appointment, Myers said. Forty-minute appointments were cut down to 30 minutes, and 20-minute appointments are now 15-minute appointments.
Based on this new system, Myers said the Health Center is able to accommodate an additional three students per day.
Despite the addition of more appointments, Myers said the Health Center will continue to provide quality and efficient care to students, explaining that the internal goal at the Health Center is to adequately balance access, efficiency and effectiveness.
"You can be so efficient that it threatens quality, but you don't want so much quality it's not efficient," Myers said.
According to last spring's Health Center survey, the average wait for appointments was two days, but this average includes weekends and students who choose to make appointments months ahead of time.
The average wait time in the office for an already-scheduled appointment is six minutes.
"The vast majority of students are seen the same day or the next day," Myers said, adding that if the Health Center accommodated walk-ins, the average wait would be three hours. The office keeps a call list to try to get students in sooner when there are no-shows or cancellations.
At a recent ASUP Senate meeting, a student questioned how the Health Center is adapting to UP's growing enrollment and how it will continue to meet students' health needs.
Although no plans are definite, the Health Center is weighting its options on how to expand as enrollment grows.
"We're not quite at the level where we are hiring or breaking down walls," Myers said.
Myers believes the demand for Health Center appointments has increased in recent years. Last year, the office had 7,800 visits.
"The truth is, the Health Center will need to expand to meet demands," he said.
Myers also said there is talk of extending the Health Center's summer hours by having more staff work for 10 months. Currently only two staff members are present for one month during the summer. Myers is at the Health Center year-round.
Although extending current office hours is a possibility, Myers said there would have to be an investigation as to how well those extra hours would be utilized. According to Myers, some other schools have extended their health center hours, only to have them be unused.
"If there's enough demand demonstrated, we'll go to the (administration) to push the resources," he said.
One recent addition that has been utilized successfully is the Careline. Myers said the triage service averages four calls per week and that students are using this service appropriately, calling only for emergencies. The service costs the Health Center approximately $20 per call, but students can call for free.
"If (the Careline service) stays on track, it will be right on budget," he said.
Starting this week, a psychiatric nurse practitioner will be at the Health Center for three to four hours a week.
Myers said the Health Center also could use a new system to help run its operations. The office is overhauling its computer system, but Myers hopes to purchase electronic medical management software sometime in the future, allowing for electronic medical records and a scheduling system.
The Health Center must keep all records for seven years, and Myers said the office recently had to devote a room entirely to record storage. The new software would cost $25,000, in addition to $4,000 for maintenance every year.
With these possible changes in mind, Myers said he wants to hear feedback from students.
"Students have much more power than they realize. They just have to speak up," he said.
