To: Dr. Christine Grogan
From: Rachel Darkow, Penn State Student
Date: September 21, 2015
Subject: A Healthier Campus
The purpose of this proposal is to inform you about the difficulties in utilizing the University
Health Services (UHS) when students need medical attention. I will work with Penn State
Student Affairs, the UHS Administration board, The Office of Quality Improvement, and Mount
Nittany Medical Center to provide students with a 24-hour campus health care center. This
proposal will provide you with an understanding for why we need a more accessible health
center; an in depth plan to transform UHS into a 24-hour, walk in clinic; a detailed, weekly
schedule; and an explanation of my qualifications.
University Health Services Lacks Convenience
Many students struggle with the inconvenient hours of the student health center. Current hours
for University Health Services are as followed:
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Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday: 8am-5pm
Wednesday: 9am-5pm
Saturday: 11am-3pm
UHS has minimal weekend hours, and there are not appointments later at night when accidents
are more likely to occur. In an emergency or when a student wakes up terribly sick, the health
center cannot always give immediate medical attention. Appointments have to be made ahead of
time and time slots are slim. Hours available during the week conflict with student’s class
schedules as well. Other issues occur when students get contagious sicknesses such as strep
throat or pink eye. By the time a sick Penn State student gets an available appointment, he or she
has spread their sickness all around campus. If immediate medical attention is needed, students
are directed to use the hospital. Although the Mount Nittany Medical Center is always open, a
car is needed to get there. Many people wake up in the middle of the night with migraines or a
terrible fever; not everyone has a car to drive to the hospital. A 24-hour, walk in facility is
necessary to sustain a healthier environment. Parents of Penn State students will be happier
knowing that their child has access to a medical center on any day, at any hour; this change will
benefit the attractiveness of Penn State as a whole because it promotes a safer and healthier
campus.
Set aside from of the negativity of inconvenient hours, the University Health center does offer
many beneficial services. These services (taken from the UHS website) include:
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Clinical care
On-site support services (lab, x-ray, and pharmacy)
Prevention care
Health education services
Health promotion and wellness programs
Physical therapy
Many of these services, such as the wellness programs, do not require the facility to be open for
24 hours; however, clinical care services are needed at every hour of the day. Emergencies
happen more often than we wish and some of these services will be beneficial at all hours. With
this in mind, I have conducted a plan to shift UHS from a facility with restricted hours, to a
walk-in, 24-hour facility.
Setting Research Plan and Taking Action
In order to resolve the University Health Services issue, the UHS Administrative Board needs to
understand the importance of a convenient health center on campus. On the UHS website, there
is a feedback page; this page states, “We want your feedback about concerns, complaints, and
positive and negative experiences you've encountered while receiving care at University Health
Services. If you have suggestions about how UHS can improve services, please share your ideas
with us. Your comments will be confidential.” I will first submit my suggestion for a walk-in,
24/7 facility. On the bottom of the feedback page, a number is given for the Office of Quality
Improvement; I will convince these employees to get on board with my plan, and then work with
them to implement change. Rather than jumping straight into a 24/7 facility, I will suggest
gradually adding additional hours and implementing the walk-in system. The end goal will be for
the facility to never close, but changes this drastic cannot be done overnight.
In the process of adding more hours and making the health center more accessible, hiring, or
willingness of current employees to work longer hours, must take place. I will need to research
how many employees UHS currently has on staff for clinical services, and the complexity of
their hiring system. Training takes time, so I will suggest other options to enable additional hours
for the facility.
University Health Service currently has a relationship with Mount Nittany Medical Center.
Research will be done to potentially work with the hospital to contract out doctors and nurses for
UHS. This would require willingness to solve the problem and understanding of current doctors
and nurses. Research will be conducted to figure out the statistics of patients who are students. I
assume a majority of ER, walk-in patients are Penn State students, which supports the need for
an on campus option. I will investigate if working alongside the Mount Nittany Medical Center
for Emergency 24/7 care is a possibility in the near future.
Schedule for Action
To stay on track to transition UHS into a 24-hour, on campus medical center, I have conducted a
weekly schedule for the remainder of the semester. Each week, certain research needs to be
completed in order for further progress to occur in the implementation process.
Week One:
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Gather thoughts to organize project details
Create a list of questions for The Office of Quality Improvement, The UHS
Administrative Board, and Mount Nittany Medical Center
Week Two:
 Contact The Office of Quality Improvement at (814) 863-2058 and make an appointment
to speak with someone
 Collect data from the Quality Improvement member and discuss possibilities
Week Three:
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Contact Mount Nittany Medical Center at (814) 234-6110 to gain insight on how many
Penn State students they assist when UHS is not open
Ask about the types of services Penn State students use at their facility
Record data into a Google Doc
Week Four:
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Make predictions based on data to calculate the number of nurses and doctors needed
throughout the week for a 24-hour, walk-in facility
Process data to project the timing of UHS opening full time as a walk in facility
Process data to determine a number of nurses and doctors UHS needs to hire to support a
24-hour facility
Week Five:
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Conduct final interviews with The UHS Administrative Board to discuss research
Determine a plan for hiring new doctors and nurses
Continue research on training programs
Set a plan for continuous improvement in the University Health Center
Week Six:
 Finalize project report
 Present finalized report to Doctor Grogan
 Present finalized report to the University Health Services Administrative Board
Qualifications
I am currently a Penn State junior majoring in Finance, with a minor in International Business.
My career plans are to work in Corporate finance contributing to a cross functional team to
increase efficiency and profitability of a corporation. The courses I have taken at Penn State that
qualify me for working on this report include, Management, Business Statistics, and Business
Ethics. I understand the basis of running a business, and the difficulties that may arise when
making drastic changes to the University Health Services system. Transitioning UHS into a
walk-in, 24-hour facility will be a responsible and ethical change for Penn State as it increases
health and wellbeing.
A personal experience gave me the motivation to promote an emergency, 24-hour facility for
students on campus. Three weeks ago, I was walking home from the gym on campus, when I
tripped over a crack in the sidewalk. I needed stitches in my chin, but was unable to get an
appointment at University Health Services because it was past operational hours. I then had to
find someone with a car to drive me to the hospital, where I dealt with rude, impatient nurses. A
center on campus needs to be convenient for the little things that may happen at any hour.
Authorization
Through this proposal, I have made a clear point; unfolding the current issue with the University
Health Center’s system. I have provided a structured plan and schedule to take action as well as
my qualifications for implementing this change. The need for a 24-hour, walk in facility is
present; commitment from you is needed to help me make a difference. I will ask you once again
for your assistance in improving a currently, insufficient system. Together, we can make Penn
State a healthier, safer campus.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me by phone at (484) 885-6812 or by email
at racheldarkow@gmail.com.