Ric Beard, Staff Writer

Research conducted by members of an Appalachian State University service and operations management class will hopefully determine the effectiveness of the university’s health services department.

Appalachian senior Ryan McDonnell said he and fellow class members seek information regarding the cost-effectiveness of inpatient care and other services offered at the infirmary.

Class members have distributed surveys to students who  visit the infirmary.  Surveys are used to gather various forms of information, such as how often students utilize inpatient services and “to see whether it is cost effective to keep it open,” said McDonnell.

Class members are also interested in learning whether or not it would be better to close the inpatient wing during weekends. The university infirmary might consider the idea of “out-sourcing some of their more expensive services,” said Brad Willis, another student involved in the survey and research processes.

Students involved with the project plan to call on Watauga Medical Center to compare the price of an overnight stay in those facilities to the cost incurred by an overnight stay at the infirmary.

This may determine if it would be less costly to send students to the medical center, rather than maintain the inpatient facilities. Such research might help Health Services decide whether or not to farm out such services.

In another survey to be conducted as part of the research, students in chosen classrooms will be asked about their knowledge of the services that the infirmary provides.

Students may be unaware of some services, according to Willis. For example, Willis himself had never heard of a parking amnesty for off-campus students who visit the infirmary.

Parking amnesty allows students who need to park on campus to visit Health Services without worrying about a parking violation from University Police officials. The infirmary contacts the traffic department in such cases to let them know the student will be parking there.

Senior Jennifer Simerson, who is also involved with the project, said the group also plans to get data from local doctors’ offices. They will try to sample 10 percent of local family and general practice physicians to get their costs and compare them to the costs of Health Services. According to Simerson, Appalachian students currently pay $74.50 in student health fees per semester.

At the end of the semester, members of the Service and Operations Management class will give a presentation to Health Services to share their findings in the research and make recommendations for improvement.
 

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