After more than a year without a formal director leading Syracuse University Health Services, the search is anticipated to end next semester.

During the period without a director, Health Services faced reaccreditation and dealt with space issues and a growing student body. But Kathy VanVechten, special assistant to the director of Health Services, said the center prefers to think of them as ‘challenges’ the center will be able to overcome.

Health Services ‘absolutely’ expects to assign a new director during spring semester, VanVechten said. She said the search was ongoing.

Health Services received a three-year accreditation in November from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care for the sixth accreditation period in a row.

The AAAHC is a private nongovernmental, nonprofit group. To be accredited, an institution must meet standards on patient rights, governance, administration, care quality, quality management and improvement, clinical records and health information, infection prevention and control, and facilities.

On Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, a representative from the AAAHC was present to examine the site and conduct interviews with staff, VanVechten said. In November, the center provided Health Services with feedback on what it can improve on and what it is already doing well.

The lack of a director was not a problem for the accreditation process, said Alison Solway, marketing and communications manager for the AAAHC. When a new director is chosen, Solway said Health Services should contact the AAAHC to update its file.

Participation in the accreditation process is voluntary, Solway said. SU first sought and was granted accreditation from the AAAHC in 1995. Getting in contact with the AAAHC and participating in the lengthy process is a sign of Health Services’ dedication, Solway said.

‘The school wanted to take this next step to show they are committed to quality care,’ Solway said.

Health Services has continued to provide quality care despite the lack of a director, VanVechten said, and not having a director was not a hindrance in applying for or obtaining the accreditation. Health Services received the feedback that its staff was highly qualified and caring, that its senior leadership was engaged and that the center was well managed, VanVechten said.

But Health Services will not be able to deal with issues like space until it finds a new director, VanVechten said. At a University Senate meeting during the spring semester, VanVechten, Health Services’ representative on USen, spoke about the search for a new director and ‘space challenges’ at Health Services.

‘More space would be an asset,’ VanVechten said. 

Additional area for clinical care, exam rooms and consultation rooms would help Health Services make room for more students, VanVechten said. She said she would like to have the space to ‘do things differently’ and said she would like to see more educational programming available for students at Health Services.

Health Services currently operates with a staff of about 50, and hiring more staff would go with more space, she said. A new health educator will be joining Health Services early in the month of December, VanVechten said.

Health Services is trying to encourage more students to speak on the phone with a registered nurse about at-home care rather than go through the trouble of coming in, VanVechten said. Students coming in for cold symptoms are most common and usually require basic care, she said.

The busiest time for Health Services is in October and November and in February and March, she said. This is because of cold and flu season patterns, as well as the stress of returning to school, lack of sleep and nutrition problems students typically experience.

Emma Gregg, a freshman television, radio and film major, said she was hesitant to visit Health Services at first. She said she did not know what to expect but was very happy with her visit.

Gregg went to refill a prescription and was able to be treated for a cold she had at the same time. The Health Services staff member who treated her gave Gregg her card and said Gregg could call her with any questions she had. Gregg did call and heard back a day or two later, she said.

Waiting was Gregg’s only complaint, she said. But she said she expects that from doctors. She said she was glad to see Health Services taking time to care for students.

‘It would be very easy to dismiss us as college students,’ Gregg said.

Putting more emphasis on prioritizing urgent health problems is one improvement the center could make, said Sephora Findling, a sophomore nutrition science major. She went to Health Services last year for the first time when she was sick with food poisoning.

Although she had to wait to get an appointment, Findling said she felt comfortable seeing Health Services, and the staff provided her with everything she needed.

‘Getting an appointment takes a while,’ Findling said. ‘But once you’re in, you’re in.’

dkmcbrid@syr.edu

Published on December 4, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Dara: dkmcbrid@syr.edu | @daramcbride