The space that once housed the Duke East Campus Health Center—which closed first semester—is now being discussed as a potential location for a number of other services.
“There are various scenarios being discussed," said Rick Johnson, assistant vice president of student affairs for housing, dining and residence life. "It appears that office space, which is in very short supply on East, may be the future use of that space. There are three offices that have been identified for that space, but they are not in there now.”
But a definitive plan of action for the space has not yet been implemented, administrators said.
Student Health closed the facility on East in November after it was decided that the center did not have adequate equipment, space or staffing to serve the needs of the students, and the 600-square foot space behind Wilson Dormitory and the Marketplace has remained empty since. Student Health decided that an integration of health services at one centralized location on West Campus could more effectively provide care to students.
“We believe that the small loss in convenience for students on East Campus is more than made up for by the improved access to the full scope primary care we can deliver at the Student Health Center,” said Jean Hanson, associate director of clinical support services and outreach for Student Health.
Hanson said that shutting down the East Campus location in November was the right decision to make and has produced better results in terms of providing students with consistent, high-quality care.
“On any given day we rarely saw more than eight to 10 students,” Hanson said. “While the East clinic was convenient for some, we could not provide the services there as we could on West. On West, there is easy access to radiology and the pharmacy, and we could draw blood or collect specimens for testing that we were unable to do on East.”
Construction is set to begin on a new Student Health and Wellness Center in Spring 2015. The new building that will unite the student health center, Counseling and Psychological Services, the Wellness Center and case management office—facilities which are currently in different locations across campus.
The site for the center has yet to be determined, although the most likely location is currently a space by the Schwartz-Butters Athletic Center and Cameron Stadium on Towerview Road, Director of Student Health John Vaughn told The Chronicle in January.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.