The newly remodeled Wilce Student Health Center reopened this semester.

The newly remodeled Wilce Student Health Center reopened this semester. Credit: Jenna Leinasars / For The Lantern

Student Health Services celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding this month by welcoming students to its newly remodeled building.

In order to address a variety of needs, Wilce Student Health Center spent 12 months reconstructing its facility in an effort to improve the student visitor experience. The new center opened at the start of the semester.

The remodeling involved work on the ground floor level, including a new clinic, pharmacy, eight additional exam rooms, a procedure room, reception desk, registration area, private lactation room, advice triage kiosks and a new west entrance, according to John Ford, associate director for the Office of Student Life Student Health Services.

Prior to the remodeling, the main entrance of the building was disconnected from the health center from the west extension of the Oval, Ford said.  

“One of the major themes we carried into this project was what we refer to as ‘transforming the patient experience,’” he said.

Instead of patients being shuffled from one place to another, now the support staff will go to them, Ford said, adding that this will allow for more privacy and personalization.  

“With the implementation of this new model, we will be able to improve efficiency, and with the improvement of efficiency, we will be able to generate additional visits,” he said.

From 2014-2015, with ongoing construction, the health center had about 63,000 clinical visits, according to a fact sheet provided by Ford.

One of them was Cary Barber, a graduate student in Roman history, who has been going to Wilce for seven years and said she agreed it was time for change.

“It was difficult to navigate through the old building,” Barber said. “(It is now) easier to get into the building because of the much better access.”

When asked about future renovations for Wilce, Ford mentioned the possibility of a “Wellness Terrace” on the first floor. This would be a green space with a patio feel that could be used as waiting space or simply as an area for enjoying the sunshine, he said.