After four separate plans in the last 10 years have failed, the fate of a new health center on North Campus is still unclear.
Though many students feel that a health center in Amherst is a necessity, UB officials cannot say for certain that it will come to fruition. Instead, officials cite possible progress with UB 2020 and speculate that if a new health center is truly essential, it will be incorporated into the program.
"In the growth of the UB 2020 Campus, we will certainly see student health and wellness reflected on all three campuses," said Dennis Black, vice president for Student Affairs. "How that happens will be determined as the comprehensive physical master plan develops over the next year or two."
Several detailed plans have already been laid out including a $4.2 billion renovation of Allen Hall, a new $77 million building for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, a new housing facility in Ellicott, and several childcare facilities, according to the UB 2020 Web site. There is, however, currently no information about a health center on the site.
Susan Snyder, director of Health Services, believes that UB 2020 may finally make the elusive North Campus health center a reality.
"Certainly, our goal has always been to be on the North Campus," Snyder said. "We're excited by the UB 2020 plan. We feel by participating in that we have the best possibility of conditioning us in the right place."
There have been several plans in the past to bring a health center to the Amherst campus. Previous plans include a center in the Student Union and in the Richmond Quadrangle. Several years ago, the health fee was raised slightly to begin increasing staff and the capacity for a possible new health center.
"I think all of those combined really left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouth," Snyder said. "And I acknowledge that. We were very hopeful for the Richmond project and we thought that is something that we could have pulled off - until the quote came in."
The addition of a health center to Richmond Quadrangle would have required roughly $500,000 in renovations just to remove asbestos and to build office space, according to Snyder. The Health and Wellness budget could not provide the capital needed to complete the project.
A recent MyUB poll found that 23.3 percent of students do not use the current health center in Michael Hall because it is not conveniently located or they do not know where it is.
Ilia Nossov, former student representative on the University Council, made the issue a priority during his term. Nossov believes the current traveling that sick students must do is counterintuitive and prolonged.
"Do you really want to wait for the bus for 30 to 45 minutes, get on the bus, get everyone else sick on the bus, go to South, wait in line... then take the bus back, then get everyone else sick again?" Nossov asked. "It's like a two-hour trip."
Black, who does not think the current setup is flawed, said students must remember that UB 2020 plans to create three vibrant campuses.
"We have thousands of students on the North Campus, thousands on or near the South Campus, and expect thousands downtown," Black said. "We provide emergency response on all sites, and offer wellness and counseling primarily on the North Campus and health services and clinics on the South Campus. We provide extensive transportation between the campuses, making student health care closer to students than it was when they lived at home before coming to UB."
Even with the easy transportation between campuses, some students believe that North Campus needs a health center.
"It doesn't make sense to just have one on South Campus when most kids are on North Campus, especially with something like health," said Jon Presser, a sophomore early childhood education major.
One possibility to alleviate the travel problem while UB 2020 is still being worked out could be a temporary subsidiary health center on the suburban campus.
"We definitely need something shorter term, maybe anywhere we can find space either in Ellicott or on the Spine...until the 2020 plan materializes," Nossov said.
John Kresconko, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, agrees that something should be done while plans for a permanent North Campus health center are still in limbo.
"We could have satellite units on the other campuses, even if South is the main one," Kresconko said.
However, Snyder does not believe that a temporary center will solve any of the current problems. Health Services previously researched the possibility and decided that it ultimately would not benefit students.
"My issue with a [temporary] center is, though we may have solved part of the problem for putting a health center of some sort on North Campus, the demand for those services would have been astronomical compared to the supply of the service," Snyder said. "Dissatisfaction with location would have been replaced with dissatisfaction of policy. We would have had to put restrictions on why you would be able to use it."
The next phase of UB 2020 will begin on Tuesday, when meetings between planners and groups across campus will occur during a public forum, according to Snyder. During this time, student groups who are interested in a new health center can express their thoughts and opinions.
The forum's student session will begin at noon and end at 1:30 p.m. at the Center for the Arts. Those interested in attending should register online on the UB 2020 Web site, or call 645-3705.
Officials are encouraging individual students to provide input into what changes, including a North Campus health center, they would like to see on campus.
"The more student voices that are heard, and through our research and how we package the solution, maybe that helps prioritize [a new health center] in UB 2020," Snyder said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
