Nausea, chills, the sniffles — all logical reasons for taking a trip to the doc. But those typical cold and flu symptoms don’t often elicit the diagnosis then-freshman Katie Daniels received.
Hudson Health Center initially treated Daniels, now a junior studying social work, with a pregnancy test.
“Once the doctor came in to talk to me, she didn’t seem to consider me having just some stomach flu and repeatedly asked questions about my thoughts if I were pregnant,” Daniels said in an email.
Daniels took the pregnancy test before being prescribed medication to treat her nausea.
In addition to misdiagnoses such as Daniels’ experience, Hudson has long been plagued by lengthy waiting times, sometimes exceeding three hours.
Tonya Burdette, Ohio University Campus Care director, said that, before the renovations, lengthy wait times forced the health center to lock its doors as early as 4:30 at times.
To remedy the student health center’s shortcomings, Hudson Health Center, now Campus Care, finished a seven-month renovation at the end of December.
The renovation, which was originally slated to finish Nov. 28, cost $600,000.
The Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine donated $400,000 to the renovation, and the Division of Student Affairs donated $200,000.
The renovation has emphasized reducing patient waiting times and sending patients home with more accurate diagnoses, Burdette said. To decrease waiting times, a second floor and 12 exam rooms were added to the existing 10.
In September, the average waiting time for patients was two hours and 17 minutes, Burdette said. Although the target waiting time is 45 minutes, the average waiting time decreased to one hour by November, and the number of patient visits that month also decreased by roughly 750 visits.
Students also have the option of using the Patient Portal, an online scheduling option that debuted Nov. 29. The feature allows students to schedule appointments online, retrieve personal information and testing results, view demographic information, and review or update insurance information.
“So far, it has been working great. Students are really starting to use it, and providers are starting to use it to communicate with the students,” Burdette said.
Other changes include scheduled clinics, extended hours for the Women’s Health Clinic, confidential HIV testing, allergy testing five days per week, and a language line to bridge the language gap between providers and patients.
Meanwhile, the facility’s staff will almost double, increasing the number of providers from six to 10.
Kent Smith, vice president for Student Affairs, said the aesthetics of the student health center have also undergone an equally significant alteration.
“In any patient care, environment plays a huge role in the perception of that care,” Smith said.
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