UW News

April 29, 2010

Hall Health to be expanded, refurbished beginning this summer

News and Information

You could call it “Campus Makeover, the Hall Health Edition.” Starting this summer and ending in the summer of 2011, the building that houses Hall Health Primary Care Center will undergo an expansion and refurbishment to increase its capacity and to modernize patient care areas that last saw an upgrade about 35 years ago.

More capacity is needed for three reasons, explains D.C. Dugdale, professor of medicine and director of Hall Health. New residence halls in West Campus will likely increase the student population seeking nearby medical services. Another, longer term force driving increased demand is the changing population of college students in general. “We see more students coming to campus who have chronic illness or ongoing medical needs,” Dugdale says. “A generation ago some of these students would have been unlikely to graduate high school and go on to college.” Also, a reduction in primary care medical services in the community — a nationwide problem — is likely to bring more students to Hall Health.

The space within Hall Health needs to be upgraded, Dugdale says, because as currently configured it often provides a “weak” patient experience. From the reception area near the entrance, where patients are confronted with a receptionist sitting behind a low brick wall, to the clinic “waiting areas,” which in some cases are little more than expanded hallways, the environment needs improvement, offering more comfort, efficiency and security. Some of the clinics, which are experiencing dramatic growth, have what are old-fashioned, ward-like spaces that do not afford the privacy to which many patients have become accustomed in other settings.

Student groups have been involved extensively in the conceptual phase of the remodel. These have included Hall Health’s own student advisory committee, which has representatives appointed by ASUW and GPSS, as well as the Service and Activities Fee Committee, which had to approve the budget, since student fees will pay for the bonds issued to pay for this remodel (as well as work at the HUB and the Ethnic Cultural Center). The plans were endorsed strongly by students: In their presentation to the Board of Regents for approval for issuing the bonds, they all agreed that this was absolutely necessary.

The remodel will be conducted in phases to assure that student services can continue uninterrupted. But the remodel is likely to affect service for non-students who are not established patients, who constitute a significant part of the patient volume. “We expect the fall of 2010 to be the tightest time,” Dugdale says. “The primary care center will be cut from 20 to 13 rooms from October through December.”

Most of the remodeling involves reconfiguring and refurbishing of existing space, but an addition that will increase floor space by about 10 percent will be built on the south side of the building. Space for the ground floor women’s health and sports medicine clinics will be increased, as will the primary care and family medicine clinics on the first floor. Space for mental health services will increase to meet growing demand. Other services, such as preventive health and travel medicine are also expected to grow.

Hall Health receives more than 77,000 patient visits each year. In addition, annually, there are more than 7,500 interactions between students and consulting nurses, about 5,000 phone calls and e-mails from students, and 292 same-day mental health visits by students.

As the remodeling project proceeds, Environmental Health & Safety, which has its offices in the building, will be consolidating its presence from four floors to two, trading some space with Hall Health clinical practice.

Hall Health has created a blog, which will provide updates throughout the process.