Student Health Center reopens as UAP Clinic

Indiana State University's Student Health Center has reopened and is now under the management of the Union Associated Physicians Clinic.

"We have 21 specialties, 9 locations, 80 providers (which includes physicians, nurse practitioners and physician's assistants), over 500 employees and have been providing healthcare for the Wabash Valley for over 90 years," said Susan Snider, marketing and public relations manager for UAP.

The same services and tests will be offered as before, said Corrie Bird, ISU's UAP Clinic manager, but with UAP handling it from now on.

For students unfamiliar with the Student Health Center, Bridget Gaddis explained what students can expect.

"The Student Health Center offers a wide variety of services from minor illnesses and minor to moderate injuries," said Gaddis, liaison between ISU and UAP. "We have lab services [...] and an x-ray technician. We have exam rooms for general complaints and a treatment room for minor procedures. We offer men's and women's health services. We also offer immunizations."

Pam Smith, director for clinical operations at UAP, said that the ISU clinic would work with other UAP clinics.

"We are specialists in healthcare and have the expertise," Smith said. "We have specialists here that, if the problem is too serious, [the student patient] will be referred here [to another UAP clinic, at 221 Sixth Street]."

UAP clinic has, as Snider put it, "all the –ologists".

Fortunately for students, the UAP Clinic is not far from ISU.

"The location is convenient to campus," Gaddis said.

Insurance will be handled as it was before UAP became involved, with few changes.

"We will be collecting [copayments]," Smith said. "And we will bill the insurance companies, the remaining balance going to the parents. We will not be billing the bursar anymore. We are also working on participating in any insurance programs ISU has."

Working with the university is important to UAP.

"I can see us working with athletics in the future," Smith said. "Some physician's assistants may go through us. Nothing has happened yet, but I can see it in the future."

The future also holds more staff for ISU's Student Health Center.

"Most of the employees that are there now were already employees for ISU," Smith said. "In August, we'll probably hire additional staff. There will be remodeling involved and we're going to rotate some of our physicians and nurse practitioners."