WILMINGTON — Gone are the days when Wilmington College students descended the steep steps into the basement of Bailey Hall to visit a school nurse or doctor. The former Health Clinic — now known as the Health & Wellness Center — has moved into a new and enlarged space in the Hermann Court Annex.
The new location is designed to provide students with enhanced accessibility and accommodate an expansion of services. The Health & Wellness Center is located alongside the QRC (Quaker Recreation Center) and athletics offices in the building attached to Hermann Court.
The facility is a combination medical and counseling clinic. A nursing staff is available for as many as 56 hours per week complemented by a College physician who holds regular hours. Also, an area of the center is designed exclusively for mental health counseling with two professional staff members.
Sigrid Solomon, vice president for student affairs and dean of students, said the move this semester was particularly timely as the COVID-19 pandemic has stepped up the need for health and wellness services. “We were looking to move prior to COVID, but the timing is especially appropriate now to enhance building accessibility and expand our services,” she said. “This is an excellent space in which to offer these essential services.”
The medical clinic is staffed by Jill Young, director of health services, and several other part-time medical personnel including family physician Tommy Tigar, MD; Becky Bryant, CNP; Debbie Sarkees, RN; and Angela Speaks, RN, PRN. The clinic features two examination rooms, two offices, a reception area and a student workstation.
The move is especially significant for WC’s two licensed, professional, clinical mental health counselors, director Kazi McDowell and counselor Ana Lopez, who previously worked from independent locations on campus. Their section of the Health & Wellness Center includes three offices designed to accommodate private consultation.
Solomon added that the Health & Wellness Center’s location at the southeastern corner of campus places these student services in close proximity to such other health and wellness facilities as the Athletic Training Clinic, the QRC/athletic venues and commercial clinics in the Center for Sports Sciences (CSS) operated by Beacon Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Drayer Physical Therapy, Clinton Memorial Hospital imaging center and Rolf Chiropractic.
Students are reminded to enter the Health & Wellness Center on the south end of the building, across from the CSS and Gilhart Field. The facility is compliant with specification set by the Americans with Disabilities Act
