Wood County Hospital’s ReadyCare service will move its location to the Falcon Health Center on May 12.

ReadyCare is an after-hours service offered to patients with minor emergencies when their doctors’ office is closed.

It is currently located on Main Street, but will move to The Falcon Health Center’s Wooster Street location next week.

The change will extend the health center’s hours on Monday-Friday to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., while adding Saturday and Sunday hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The health center is currently not open on the weekend.

Student evaluations revealed a need for weekend and later hours, said Deb Busdeker, Falcon Health Center director.

“Some of the students were having to utilize resources in that time frame at other places,” Busdeker said.

This is the first time services at the health center will be offered to area residents, as prior to that, the services at the Falcon Health Center have been restricted to those affiliated with the University.

“It should not have any effect on the students,” Busdeker said. “I don’t think anyone will notice that there’s anything different.”

This is something Jodi Webb, dean of students, also considered when she first heard of the initiative. She said she has no concerns that students will not be able to receive the services they need.

“I feel confident that the Falcon Health Center will continue to look at what their staffing needs are to serve both populations,” Webb said. “I would hope that bringing those two populations together will really be transparent to our students.”

This summer, the after-hour services will be limited, but may expand next fall as officials see what the needs are.

“It’s nice that we’re starting in May,” Busdeker said. “You get a chance to finesse the services … it’s kind of a practice run.”