Students can expect the long-awaited health center on North Campus to open by the fall of 2005, which will expand on the services provided at the current South Campus center at Michael Hall, according to UB officials.
Through the combined efforts of vice president of Student Affairs Dennis Black, director of student services at Michael Hall Frank Carnevale, and Student Association President Anthony Burgio, the administration and SA worked together to generate plans for the new health center.
"If it weren't for the cooperation for all those groups, this new service wouldn't be a reality," Carnevale said.
The goal for the new center is to have 12 hours of medical service a day, Carnevale said.
"During the day you can be seen at Michael Hall, and at night you can visit the North Campus," Carnevale said.
Carnevale added that rapid progress is being made on the North Campus location.
"Currently we're working on the architectural plans for the center, in the spring we'll begin construction, and hopefully we'll be open by the fall 2005 semester," he said.
The new student health center will be located in Room 114 on the first floor of the Student Union. Carnevale said he has additional plans for the North Campus location.
"The nice part about this too, is that SA was nice enough to let us use their third floor space for wellness education -- yoga, massage, ballroom dancing, and we also may have some counseling, group sessions, and CPR training," Carnevale said.
Dave Ballard, associate director of the Student Health Center, said he's very supportive of the move and expansion.
"I'm glad that they're preparing some type of health services for students on North Campus," Ballard said.
SA President Anthony Burgio emphasized the importance of this new medical facility.
"We've gone too long on this campus without such an essential service," Burgio said. "The students deserve something not lacking in taking care of them."
Burgio said he hopes the new facility will provide a medium between students dealing with minor medical discomfort and a trip to the emergency room.
"When you have a quick question, you need a quick checkup, you go there," Burgio said.
Burgio added that without the cooperation and support from the faculty, this project would have not been possible.
"Without (Carnevale), we couldn't have done anything," Burgio said. "This is a case study of how a student government interacts with the faculty."
Although Burgio said he is pleased at the progress of the center, he is still not satisfied.
"This is by no means designed to be a permanent facility," said Burgio, who hopes a new, state-of-the-art facility will be created at some point in the near future. "It will provide only a fraction of the services found on South Campus."
Over the years, the lack of a health center on North has been one of UB students' biggest complaints.
"Going all the way to South Campus for medical attention seems inconvenient and unsafe," said Theresa McNutt, a sophomore Linguistics major. "Students are more likely to use a health center that's located close to them on North Campus."
Steve Cummiskey, a junior history major, said he is not only receptive to such a center on North, but that it is a necessity.
"It's a service that's been long overdue to North Campus students," he said.
