The newly completed Center for Health and Well-Being will greet students, faculty and staff returning to campus for the fall semester. The 68,000 square foot facility, which replaces the Thomson Student Health Center as the hub for medical care on campus, features new and expanded health services.
Dr. Deborah Beck, the executive director of Student Health Services, described the Center as designed to both take care of sick or injured students and promote a healthy, balanced lifestyle to everyone on campus.
“Basically the building was designed to be very transparent, for students to walk back and forth through the building and to get messages of wellness,” she said.
Beck hopes the Center becomes a place that students can come and enjoy even when they don’t need any treatment, whether in the facility’s lobbies or open meditation rooms.
“Throughout the nation the number one reason why students say they’re not successful is stress, so we’re no different than any other university,” she said, “so we want those buildings to be the center of campus and to be somewhere they can come and immediately reduce their stress or find resources to help them navigate their academics.”
Each of the building’s five floors are designed to represent the parts of plant and its life cycle, from root through growth, as a metaphor for complete wellness. Information about the seven dimensions of wellness also decorates the walls throughout the center.
“It has all of the dimensions of wellness incorporated into it,” Beck said.
Even the colors of the walls and floors were determined based on research about the relationship between certain colors and relaxation. Beck said she and her team included student advisors in the decision process for many parts of the Center’s design.
“We had a student who fell asleep — we think it's an awesome message that [the center] met its mission," she said.
The facility also includes an expanded sports medicine and physical therapy featuring a full rehabilitation gym and athletic trainers.
Students who get care in the Center will now be assigned to “pods” that include everyone on their medical team, from their primary care physician to nutritionists. This system means that students will always see the same staff. Beck believes the system will also help to improve communication between departments and therefore increase the quality of care.
Mental health care is also a part of the center, and students’ counselors will be included in their “pod.”
In addition to what’s already available, a new optometry clinic and optical shop is scheduled to open during the spring 2018 semester. Students will have access to basic eye care, eye emergency care and new glasses or contact lenses.
The Thomson Building is also being renovated to include more health services. It is scheduled to re-open in October.
Students and their families can see the new center for themselves during tours offered throughout the day on Move-In Day. Those interested can also take tours on Fridays throughout the fall semester, starting at 2 p.m. each week.
Like many of USC’s recent construction projects, the Center is expected to receive a gold certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.