Health Center in search of third party

Debbie Daugherty, a nurse practitioner at the Student Health Center, was returning from a cruise when she learned she was losing her job.

“I am really concerned about who is going to take care of you guys,” she said.

Daugherty began working at the center 13 years ago. It was her first job as a nurse practitioner, she said.

“I am quite lucky to have a part-time job,” she said. “I worry about my co-workers.”

As part of Friday’s announcement that 108 campus staff positions would be eliminated in response to budget cuts, the university announced it’s seeking a third-party contractor to operate the health center. Dr. Kevin Loeb, the center’s medical director, said his staff was told they would be out of work May 14.

ISU officials are engaged in “multiple conversations” with several health care service providers interested in operating the center, said Tom Ramey, vice president for student affairs. He would not elaborate on the conversations, provide the names of interested organizations or indicate where they are located.

Ramey said the university intends to cast as wide of a net as necessary to find an outside vendor. University officials want an agreement similar to that with Sodexo, which handles ISU’s food service, and Barnes & Noble, which runs the ISU Bookstore.

“We’re finding our conversations pretty fruitful,” Ramey said.

Union Hospital does not have any signed contracts with ISU, said Kristi Roshel, the hospital’s public relations manager. She said details about any contract negotiations are kept confidential.

Mindy Balka, a spokeswoman at Terre Haute Regional Hospital, said Regional is not currently in partnership talks with ISU.

Ramey said the university hopes to have a “business partner” in place by July 1, the beginning of ISU’s next fiscal year. Otherwise, an interim plan will be initiated until a permanent deal is finalized.

Students using the center this semester should not notice any changes, Ramey said, adding a transitional period this summer will lead into the new operations.

Loeb said he has been kept in the dark about who is taking over the center.

“We feel like we have lost our own family,” he said.

His job was supposed to be temporary. As of May, he will have been employed nearly four years.

Ramey said that in seeking an outside company for health services, the university is following in the footsteps of other institutions. For instance, Muncie’s Ball Memorial Hospital operates Ball State University’s health center.

Representatives from Clarian Health, the Indianapolis-based hospital chain that owns Ball Memorial Hospital, did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment on any negotiations with ISU.

Mary Richmond, a registered nurse who spent two of her 14 years at ISU working at the health center, said it’s hard to think about the future. She said she would probably look for another nursing position.

“I never thought it would be my job,” she said. “I was shocked.”