Elon has partnered with Alamance Regional Medical Center and Cone Health to provide student health services staffing in a South Campus facility that doubles space for health services, counseling services and health promotions.
Students and university employees seeking medical help this fall will find expanded space and professional staff from Alamance Regional Medical Center available to assist them in a new South Campus health facility.
The R.N. Ellington Center for Health and Wellness located at 301 S. O’Kelly Avenue is the university’s new home for Student Health Services, Counseling Services, Faculty/Staff Wellness and the Office of Student Health and Wellness. At 14,000 square feet, it is more than twice the size of the previous health center and faculty/staff wellness centers.
The new student health facility building features nine medical exam rooms, a procedure room for treatments like sutures or IV fluid injections, separate blood-drawing and allergy labs, a larger waiting area for students, a pharmacy and a separate office suite for Counseling Services.
A full-time physician joins Student Health Services this fall, in addition to three advanced care clinicians. Medical staff with Student Health Services is employed by Alamance Regional Medical Center, a part of Cone Health, one of the region’s largest networks of health care providers.
“Health care is changing so much, even at the local level,” said Jana Lynn Patterson, associate vice president for Student Life and dean of Student Health and Wellness. “By partnering with the Alamance Regional and Cone Health, we feel we’ll be able to provide better stability in staffing and expanded medical resources for our students.”
Alamance Regional Chief Executive Officer John Currin said the hospital has had long partnerships with Elon University, from wellness programming for faculty and staff to serving as the official primary care provider for Elon Athletics.
“We are delighted to expand our services further in order to bring the high level of quality care that Alamance Regional is known for to the Student Health Services,” Currin said. “With Alamance Regional operating the health center, students will benefit from seamless and coordinated care within the local medical community, whether there is a need for referral to a medical specialist, radiology services, rehabilitation or even hospitalization.”
Other features available for students include:
– Expanded weekend hours to include Sunday afternoons.
– A full-time athletic trainer dedicated to Club Sports, the Department of Performing Arts and the student body in general.
– Expanded space for fee-for-service providers, including a psychiatrist and a psychologist. The university plans to offer a fee-for-service nutritionist within the next academic year. “It allows students who need a level of service beyond what we provide on a day-to-day basis to have quick access to that service,” Patterson said.
– Transportation via an electric cart to the Ellington Center will be available from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, to transport to the students on campus who may be too sick to travel on their own.
– Health Services will transition to electronic medical records this fall and students will also be able to access information through a new portal being made available to all patients at the facility.
In addition to health and counseling services, the Office of Student Health and Wellness – formerly the Office of Student Development – has relocated to the R.N. Ellington Center for Health and Wellness. The office includes university staff members dedicated to health promotion, violence prevention, substance education, student concerns outreach and inclusive community well-being.
The student-led SPARKS (Students Promoting Awareness, Responsibility, Knowledge, and Success) peer education program relocated to the Ellington Center from its old location in the Koury Athletic Center.
Additional information will be posted on the Student Health Services and Counseling Services websites in the coming weeks. A building dedication is being planned for late summer or early fall.
The Office of Student Health and Wellness can be reached at (336) 278-7200. Health Services is closed for the summer and reopens in August.