In an effort to meet student demand for longer hours of operation and more availability, Bailey’s Health Center has teamed up with St. Luke’s University Health Network.

This partnership will result in the extension of hours at the health center as well as providing more staff to accommodate the students. Providers from St. Luke’s will be available at Bailey’s in the evening, extending health services until 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturdays, according to an email sent out to the campus community.

St. Luke’s was just one of the hospitals the college interviewed for a possible partnership, Director of Health Services Jeffrey Goldstein said.

“There was a lot of work in both convincing the college administration, the staff, and the president that there was even a need for creating this partnership and to increase access for students,” Goldstein said.

The network director of urgent care services at St. Luke’s Dr. Robert Dolanksy is excited the partnership has been finalized.

“I have been working on it for a couple of years. We really had to show our data that supported the decision, so the college felt comfortable allocating the necessary resources based upon evidence that students were overbooked and we were understaffed,” Dolanksey said.

Goldstein said the data showed student demand for appointments was not being met, and it was a problem he felt the college should address.

“We don’t want to delay students being seen. That was a big frustration of mine. I didn’t think it was an acceptable way to provide healthcare to our students,” Goldstein said.

On top of extended hours, St. Luke’s is offering an app available on iPhones to students that provide the opportunity to have a “Video Visit” with a doctor on call at St. Luke’s for a $15 fee per call. This will allow for students to call with medical questions from their dorms or if the health center is closed.

“The physician will ask an extensive history of your current symptoms. He or she may ask you to do some simple things like tap on your sinuses to see if the sinuses are congested or painful, or feel your neck on either side of your windpipe for any lymph nodes. In many cases advice and or treatment can be given over the phone. If a prescription for a medication is warranted, it could be sent directly to your pharmacy,” Dolansky wrote in an email.

While this St. Luke’s app will enable students to ask doctors questions in a more convenient manner, Dolansky recognizes these video conferences have their limitations.

“We can’t perform many examination aspects through the video conference. If that is the case, the physician will refer you to be seen in person at the campus health center, one of our St. Luke’s care now walk-in centers, or the emergency room. Keep in mind that the video quality of your phone or mobile device is limited,” Dolanksy wrote in an email.