Happy 60th birthday to you, outdated and rundown Hudson Health Center.
Because Hudson was unveiled some time in 1949, maybe today isn't the exact day it opened its doors for the first time. But it did receive a few gifts in the past week, so we might as well celebrate.
One gift was cash, specifically $57,000 from students' WellBeing fees. Ohio University plans to update Hudson's exam rooms, which we agree is an important purchase. The other gift was new leadership; Steve Swart, who was CEO of Doctors Hospital of Nelsonville and the College of Osteopathic Medicine's former chief financial officer, joins as director.
We wish Swart luck with his new day-to-day gig. He's being asked to run a place that overprescribes painkillers, misdiagnoses students and probably does not appeal much to doctors looking for work. Unfortunately, his responsibilities don't end there.
At six decades, Hudson is older than the Korean War, Scientology and most of our parents. In fact, the building opened only a year after Israel became a country.
That's why we're grateful some care is still being put into the place. Vice President for Student Affairs Kent Smith has seemingly made it his mission to turn Hudson into a health center that students aren't terrified to visit, and he's got his work cut out for him to reach even that level.
Purchasing this equipment is a strong step in the right direction. Although a good chunk of that WellBeing money probably came from students who forgot to opt out of the program, it's funding and equipment that the place desperately needs. Still, that isn't good enough. President Roderick McDavis and the Board of Trustees need to make Hudson's overhaul a priority, and allocate cash as such.
As long as Smith keeps trying to salvage the place from going under completely, the effort will be appreciated. But until McDavis and the Board agree that Hudson's complete overhaul is too vital to delay, Smith is simply applying a Band-Aid to a head wound.
Editorials represent the views of The Post's executive editors.
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New director given critical role of overhauling Hudson
