Thursday, October 17, 1996
HEALTH: Student Health to become more accessible after move to
Plaza Building in June 1997By Kathryn Combs
Daily Bruin Contributor
Pale, weak and sweating profusely, you wander aimlessly through
the Center for Health Sciences searching for Student Health
Services. Finally in utter frustration you feverishly exclaim
"WHERE IS STUDENT HEALTH??"
Luckily, Student Health Services is moving to a location near
UCLA students.
Scheduled to move in June 1997, what is now known as the Plaza
Building will soon house the Arthur Ashe Health and Wellness
Center, also known as Student Health.
The Center for Student Health, has been located on the A-level
of the Center for Health Sciences for generations of students.
"We’ve been in this building for a good 30 or 40 years …
students are our clientele and we are not in the right place to
serve them," said Albert Setton, executive director of Student
Health.
"Student health is about helping students … in our current
location we are difficult for students to find … the new location
provides an opportunity for us to be of an even greater service to
students. It will open the door for us to provide programs which
don’t make sense where we are now," Setton added.
Services offered by Student Health include women’s and men’s
health, which specialize in gender specific health problems. Also
included are primary care, dental services and anonymous and
confidential HIV testing.
Being added to these already available services is a limited
physical therapy program.
"There are quite a few students who need physical therapy …
presently we have excellent facilities available to us," said Dr.
Ed Wiesmeier, director of Student Health. "We’ll have it worked out
so that it will be convenient for students," he added.
Physical therapy services are not free right now similar to most
services provided by the current Student Health program. Currently,
students are referred to doctors outside of Student Health. The
therapy will become more available once they move to the Plaza
Building.
The Plaza building, because of its central location, will be
more able to cater to students who may be injured on the Intramural
(IM) field or in the Wooden Center.
As a result of this move, Student Health officials project a 20
to 25 percent increase in students utilizing their services. In
addition, the new location will provide more clinical space for
doctors to see more patients.
"We are defining ways to solve problems that have in the past
been unsolvable because of geography … we are looking for every
opportunity to make our services better for the students," said
Michele Pearson, director of Ancillary Services for Student
Health.
"We see 50 percent of the campus in any given year," she
added.
"We are projecting that we will see a 25 percent increase in our
utilization. We are basing this solely on the fact that we will be
more centrally located," Setton said.
The Department of Health Education, an outreach-oriented branch
of Student Health including Student Health Advocates (SHAs)
nutrition specialists will also be moving to Pauley Pavilion in the
near future to better serve students  particularly on-campus
students.
"We try to provide a bridge between professional service and the
campus community," said Pamela Viele, director of the department of
Student Health Education.
Between now and June 1997, services offered by Student Health
will remain the same. More changes may occur after the assessment
of the new location, officials said.
"It’s history in the making," Setton said.