Whether someone is sick with the flu or hurt their arm skateboarding to class, the Falcon Health Center will be open longer to help them.
This new service is called Ready Care, which allows the center to be open for more hours during the week and now the weekends.
Deb Busdeker, director of operations of the Falcon Health Center said there will be changes of hours and services at the Health Center soon.
Busdeker conducted surveys with the Undergraduate Student Government, students and faculty on what they wanted to be improved at the Health Center.
The most common concerns were related to hours and wait time.
The building’s working hours are going to be extended to 9 p.m., and they will be opening 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on the weekends.
Weekends also provide more time for a walk-in service. Students with medical needs are given a more convenient chance of seeing a professional on their own time.
“This generation is more used to a drive thru service idea,” Busdeker said.
Sophomore Valerie Brinkerhoff likes the idea of Ready Care.
“Opening on the weekends would be a lot better,” Brinkerhoff said.
Brinkerhoff said she has visited the Health Center numerous times in the past two years, for reasons ranging from injuries to prescriptions pickups. There have been a few instances when she has had to walk or get a ride to other pharmacy’s, like CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid for medical assistance.
Wait time issues are being worked on as well. Busdeker said the center has implemented a service, accompanied with SOAR, an incoming freshman program, to help cut wait time.
This provides freshman an opportunity to fill out medical paperwork while their parents help them move into the dorms. Students can also contact the Health Center and they will help them to figure out what their insurance covers and what it doesn’t.
Busdeker said there is a difference between the Health Center and Wood County Hospital.
“We are not a duplicate of the hospital,” Busdeker said. “We are more like your family doctor.”
Costs at the hospital compared to the Health Center are much higher and the service is not as fast.
Dr. Nicholas Espinoza, the medical director at the Falcon Health Center said Ready Care is a perfect fit for the Health Center and will accommodate both students and the community.
“This provides a lower equity and a higher volume of help,” Espinoza said.
The new hours of availability will begin after this semester and will continue on through the summer and into the next school year.
