Athens, Ga. – In effort to provide convenient, personalized care, the University of Georgia Health Center adopted a new same day appointment system. Primary care will be provided by four teams of medical professionals consisting of physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners.
Enrolled students are assigned to one personal clinician who is a member of a medical team. Teams are identified by color- gold, red, blue and green. Patients are seen by appointment usually the same day or on the day of their choice.
The system was initiated on July 1, and the transition from the Acute Care walk-in clinic has been smooth. According to executive director Jean Chin, “It has all the benefits of a small doctor’s office, encourages students to build a relationship with their personal clinician and will reduce wait time.”
Students can find out their clinician and team assignment when they go online to make an appointment. They can also call Patient Registration and Health Information at 706/542-8617.
In addition to primary care, the health center offers specialty care in the areas of women’s health, sports medicine, dermatology, counseling and psychiatric services, dental care and physical therapy. Patients are seen by appointment.
The health center does not have an emergency room, however, students with non-life threatening conditions such as lacerations, fractures, high fever or severe vomiting will be treated without an appointment during urgent care hours, Mon. – Fri., 5- 8 p.m. and Sat. and Sun., 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
During the last fiscal year, nearly 22,000 students utilized health center services resulting in over 100,000 patient visits.
The health center is currently undergoing a building expansion project and will offer vision care and expanded counseling services. The health promotion department, including the John Fontaine Jr. Center for Alcohol Awareness will be housed in the new wing. The expansion is projected to be completed by May 2009.
For more information about the University Health center, see: www.uhs.uga.edu.