Health center revises hours

Author: Jason Siegel

This fall, in an effort to get students accommodated to the availability of medical appointments outside Middlebury College, the Parton Health Center has shifted its schedule around to fit what Associate Director of the Parton Health Center Terry Jenny calls a "business model."

The main change has been the fact that students may schedule an appointment with a nurse only until 6 p.m., as opposed to the 9 p.m. cutoff in the past. The number of appointments available will not change, and Jenny stressed repeatedly that access to serious and emergent medical care has not changed.

In previous years there had often been two nurses working at a given time in the evenings and on the weekends. However, now there will be only one nurse on duty after 6 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays.

Jenny called the scheduling of the new business hours, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., an "educational tool." After college, students will be unable to schedule appointments late in the day, and the Health Center wishes to reflect that.

Likewise, after college, people are not denied access to emergency services when needed, and the Health Center will continue to offer these services or, when necessary, arrange for transportation to Porter Hospital.

"The impact is not that great," Jenny said. She reminded students that the number of appointments had not changed, but merely the hours of availability.



Students wishing to see a nurse practitioner or a doctor will be able to see them at the same times as always, during the business hours of the Health Center.

A smaller change deals with the security of Centeno House. Now that there is only one nurse on duty from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m., the inside door, which separates the foyer from the waiting room, will be locked during those hours. Jenny is asking students not to be discouraged by that locked door, and to use the telephone in the foyer to call the Health Center to get admission. The outside door will remain unlocked at all times.

Jenny also recommended that students call before going to the Health Center if they wish to make an appointment.

"If [a] need could wait until business hours," said Jenny, "that's what we would recommend."

Students who wish to see a nurse might otherwise find that they have gone to Centeno House for nothing, since all the appointments for that time might be taken.

In the past the Parton Health Center was an appointment-based operation, but provided many services for those who suddenly become hurt or sick as well. These aspects, said Jenny, will remain true this year.

This March, Middlebury College was one of only three schools named in a New York Times article on the seemingly sudden paucity of 24-hour college infirmaries for actually having such a facility.

Therefore, Jenny said, students should feel welcome to call the Health Center at any time for any reason.