The University of Tampa’s newest student center — the Stephen F. and
Marsha Dickey Health and Wellness Center — will focus as much on
advocating healthy lifestyles as treating common colds. The new center,
at the intersection of North Brevard and North A streets, will house
traditional health and counseling functions on the first floor, as well
as the infrastructure that supports wellness programming on the second.
The
wellness programming focuses on social, physical, spiritual and
emotional wellness and includes such topics as personal safety, tobacco
cessation, nutrition and fitness counseling and stress relief.
Organizations and staff within the Office of Student Affairs, such as
the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement, Residence Life and
Campus Recreation offices, as well as Student Government and Dining
Services, collaborate to sponsor hundreds of wellness-related events on
campus each year. Programming related to the Sykes Chapel and Center for
Faith and Values, which will be dedicated this winter, will also fit
under this umbrella.
The new two-story center totals 10,300
square feet and includes a waiting area, eight exam rooms, a triage
space, pharmacy, staff offices, holding rooms, counseling offices,
conference rooms and a group counseling room. Construction of the
building, which is UT’s second candidate for U.S. Green Building Council
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification,
began last February.
The center will be staffed by the associate
dean of student affairs, who coordinates wellness programs; the
director of the Health and Wellness Center, who is a full-time
board-certified nurse practitioner; two full-time board-certified Family
Practice nurse practitioners; the associate director of the Health and
Wellness Center, who is a licensed mental health counselor; two
part-time psychiatric nurse practitioners; two counselors; a licensed
clinical social worker; a consulting psychiatrist; three medical
assistants; and a receptionist.
“The University of Tampa
recognizes that students have physical, psychological, social and
spiritual needs,” said Bob Ruday, dean of students. “This facility will
be a hub for educational resources and advocacy and will work with other
University departments to feature the hundreds of wellness related
topics so students will feel well so that they can think well.”
Construction
of the center was supported in part by a generous gift from Dr. Stephen
F. and Marsha Dickey. Stephen F. Dickey is a trustee emeritus of the UT
Board of Trustees and was the founder, president and CEO of Tampa-based
Doctor’s Walk-In Clinic. Marsha Dickey has been active in many Tampa
community groups including The Chiselers, Red Cross Angels and Berkeley
Preparatory School Parents’ Club.
The new center is dedicated on Oct. 28 and will open for business Nov. 1.
Last year, the health center staff saw more than 1,000 patients for health and counseling services each month.
The
campus will hold a wellness symposium on Nov. 5 for the entire campus
community. This one-day event, planned by the Student Wellness
Committee, will feature a wellness expo as well as more than 15
presentations on health and wellness topics. All of the events will
occur in Plant Hall.