The Student Health Center, formerly the Student Primary Health Clinic, held a ceremony this week to celebrate its March 12 opening in its new location on the first floor of Darnall Hall.

When Georgetown University Medical Center was purchased in July of 2000, the lease for the student health clinic space was signed for a two-year term.

This past July, when the lease expired, plans were made to bring the Student Primary Health Clinic back onto the main campus where it would not only have nicer facilities, but would be more accessible to students.

The features in the state-of-the-art clinic are also part of a response to an increased need for on-campus health services. The Student Health Center will incorporate new technology to make the center more efficient and improve customer service. This technology includes everything from a computer kiosk that will be placed in the waiting room for student use, to the equipment for electrocardiograms and pulse oximetry machines.

The electrocardiograms will allow the Student Health Center to administer EKGs, and the pulse oximetry equipment can account for oxygen levels in the blood to determine if a person has serious respiratory problems or can simply be treated with antibiotics.

These technological features, however, are just the beginning. All of the equipment, from lights to stethoscopes, is brand new. The furniture was also specifically purchased for use in the new center.

Other services that will be included in the Student Health Center are the abilities to schedule appointments and have prescriptions filled entirely online. Dr. James Welsh, M.D., director of the Student Health Center, anticipates that these services will be available in the next month. The Student Health Center has been working with MedStar, one of the companies that owns Georgetown University Medical Center, and Relay Health, to work on the Web site features.

The staff of the Student Health Center, comprised of eight board-certified family physicians as well as four nurse practitioners, is now ready to serve growing student needs. “Our new facilities recognize this increased need for health care services, and state-of-the-art computers and equipment will help us continue to provide care for the whole person as part of our university mission,” Welsh said in a March 24 Georgetown press release.

Housed in the former Offices of Affirmative Action and Auxiliary Services, the new Student Health Center has not only moved into newer facilities, but the health center is also now in a much better location, adjacent to Saint Mary’s Hall, where the School of Nursing and Health Studies is located.

The construction process, which began this fall, included several steps. Once the team decided on the Darnall space, the Offices of Affirmative Action and Auxiliary Services had to be moved into quarters between Darnall Hall and the newly renovated St. Mary’s Hall. Next, work began on changing the office space to fit the needs of the student clinic. “The space is the same amount of square footage, but a lot of planning effort went in to make this laid out in a much more attractive and efficient way,” Welsh said. “I’m hoping in a way that will increase patient privacy and confidentiality.”

The nurses and physicians worked closely with the construction company and the architectural firm, Patner. The process of construction was a success, according to Welsh, finishing eight weeks ahead of schedule. “The staff is universally thrilled with the move,” Welsh said. “We’re getting terrific feedback from the students who have visited here since we moved in on March 12.”

A large number of students have already visited the new location of the health clinic. According to Welsh, in the past the health center has received 16,000 visits each year, making for roughly 250 visits each month. He believes that these numbers will only continue to grow with the improved location of the clinic. “This is a much better location, much more visible, more much convenient.”

The placing of the Student Health Center on campus will allow it to work on future projects with the School of Nursing and Health Studies, located in St. Mary’s Hall, and the Center will be able to refer patients to Georgetown University Medical Center, across from the clinic, for specialty care services.

Georgetown University Medical Center plans to use the space of the former Student Primary Health Clinic for outpatient care, although it is not certain for which department the old space will be used.