Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1956 [PAGE 464]

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1955]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LOCATION O F UNIVERSITY HEALTH CENTER

461

Mrs. Holt, for the Committee on Student Welfare and Activities, submitted the following report from the President of the University.

Honorable Doris Holt 1 Honorable Wayne A. Johnston > Honorable Frances B. WatkinsJ July 15, 1955 Committee on Student Welfare and Activities

LOCATION OF U N I V E R S I T Y H E A L T H C E N T E R On July 25, 1953, President Stoddard submitted to the Board of Trustees, with his endorsement, a proposal from Director of Health. Services L. M. Dyke to move the University Health Center from its present location in Davenport House on South Wright Street (opposite the Administration Building) to McKinley Hospital. T h e reasons for this proposal are rather well set forth in a summary of "Advantages and Disadvantages" prepared by Dr. Dyke at my later request and enclosed (Enclosure A ) . Considerable objection was aroused by this proposal when it was presented, and with the concurrence of the President the matter was referred by the Board to your Committee and I later undertook to carry out further studies in order to arrive at a firm recommendation which would be of assistance to the Committee. Progress toward reaching a definite conclusion on the matter has been much slower than I had anticipated or desired. The reorganization of the Health Service, which resulted in the appointment of Director Dyke, was based upon an intensive study by a special committee headed by Professor N . A. P a r k e r and including Dean F. H . Turner, Assistant Provost C. M. Louttit, and Professors R. E. Johnson and H. S. Hoyman, whose report was submitted December 15, 1950. The report emphasized the inadequacy of the facilities of the present Health Center and recommended a new building for it (without suggesting location). It recommended that McKinley Hospital be brought under the administration of the Director of the Health Services (instead of being, as before, responsible to the Dean of Students) which has been done. The committee also recommended the gradual development of McKinley Hospital into a general hospital. This committee also recommended a standing advisory committee on the Health Service, Early in the fall of ig53, I established such a committee with Dean F. H. Turner as Chairman. One of the questions assigned to it was the proposal to move the Health Center to McKinley Hospital. This committee was1 unable to function satisfactorily in relation to the problems placed before it, and in April, 1954, I found it necessary to terminate the committee and establish a new one, with Professor R. E. Johnson as Chairman. That committee made a report to me in February, 1955, copy of which I enclose (Enclosure B ) . The committee reported favorably on the proposed change, provided, however, that for student convenience a branch infirmary be retained at or near the present location. It also advised against expansion of McKinley Hospital into a general hospital until it could be enlarged and major improvements made. The proposed location of the Health Center in McKinley Hospital would be considered temporary since the committee recommended as a long-range need a new addition or adjacent building for the Health Center. Among the people who are especially interested in the work of the Health Center and McKinley Hospital are the practicing physicians in Urbana-Champaign. The Champaign County Medical Society has a standing Committee on University of Illinois Relations. Consequently, I referred the report of the advisory committee to that committee for review and comment. I enclose a copy of the report dated April 14, 1955 (Enclosure C ) . It expressed concurrence with the idea of bringing the Health Center and McKinley Hospital together but raised questions on the grounds of (a) student convenience, (b) need of hospital space, and (c) policy of care of patients and access to hospital by local Physicians. Because of the great interest of the student body in this matter, I also (somewhat belatedly) referred the question to the Student Senate for comment and advice. This body, based on a study by a special committee, reported ad-