Student Healthcare at the University of Central Arkansas:
The History Of the Dorothy A. Long Student Health Services
The Dorothy A. Long Student Health Services Department at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) had a humble beginning with the hiring in September 1937, of Lucy Jane Brannon, R.N. Ms. Brannon had a Bachelor of Science degree from Arkansas State Teachers College and received her medical training at St. Vincent’s Infirmary in Little Rock and Belleview Hospital in New York City. As UCA’s college nurse she received a salary of fifty dollars per month and free room and board. The next year she received a raise to fifty-five dollars per month and free room and board. Even though UCA’s first nurse begin caring for students in 1937, it wasn’t until 1943 that this fact was mentioned in UCA’s catalog.
Motivated by new regulations passed by the American Association of Teachers Colleges, UCA began in 1938 to improve the healthcare offered to students. According to the April 26, 1938, report of the UCA Board of Trustees, the following provisions were made for student healthcare.
That an examination and hospitalization fee of $1.50 per semester and fifty cents for each term in summer session be charged all students to cover:
(1) Cost of physical examination by a physician at least once each year.
(2) Hospitalization, which will include room and board and general operating room for emergency operations, for one week.
The first mention of student healthcare in UCA’s catalog was in 1943. The catalog for the 1943-1944 academic year reads as follows in regards to student healthcare:
of a practicing physician. A registered nurse, who lives in
the girls’ dormitory, is available to all students for consultations
or emergency service. No charge is made by the College for
the nurse’s service. The service of any physician called for a
student will be paid for by the student. Arrangement has been
made with the State Department of Health to make available to
all students, without extra cost, the tuberculin test for tuberculosis
and the Wassermann test for syphilis.
Beginning in the fall of 1944, the test for tuberculosis was made mandatory for entering first-time students. The test for syphilis remained optional.
In the fall of 1949, another mandatory health requirement came into being; a physical examination for all entering freshmen and transfer students. The test for tuberculosis remained compulsory. The college catalog for the 1955-1956 academic year went into considerable detail when speaking of the required physical examination by stating:
A medical examination is required at the time a student is
registered each fall. This examination is made by the student’s
own physician; and a report of its results must be filed in the
office of the college dispensary. An appropriate form for this
report may be obtained from the college nurse of the Office
of the Dean. A student must also undergo a tuberculin test
each fall. Normally such a test is provided free of charge by
the State Department of Health, which sends a mobile chest
X-ray to the campus each fall and summer.
In 1947, Ten years after the hiring of UCA’s first college nurse, the student healthcare program expanded somewhat by operating two infirmaries, one for women and one for men. The women students were treated in Bernard Hall and the men students were treated in Doyne Hall (briefly) and later in Veterans Infirmary. Hospitalization was available to all students and the basic benefits were virtually the same as those outlined in the 1938 board minutes mentioned earlier.
Doyne Hall was used for just a short time as the men’s infirmary. Due to the large number of male veterans returning to college after World War II had ended, the men’s infirmary came to be known as “Veterans Infirmary.” Veterans Infirmary had a capacity of 20 beds and included a lobby and office space. The construction of Veterans Infirmary came about through the allocation of surplus war plant property.
The addition of Veterans Infirmary was needed due to the great influx of veterans who were going to college on the G.I. Bill. Literally millions of Americans had put their education on hold to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II. When the war finally ended, college campuses across America were inundated with male veterans who were seeking their degree.
Veterans Infirmary operated from the fall of 1948 to the spring of 1955. As the number of veterans and male students in general declined due to graduation, and the student population returned to more traditional-aged college students, the necessity for a separate infirmary ended. Beginning in the fall of 1955 both men and women students were treated in Bernard Hall. However, while both sexes were given medical attention in the Bernard Hall clinic, only the female students actually had use of the infirmary. There was no provision for men in the way of bed space in the infirmary after the spring of 1955.
In the 1958 North Central Association Self-Survey Report, it is noted that a practicing physician had been retained by UCA to oversee the health program, and that a registered nurse resided on campus to administer the program. Also a college dispensary located in Bernard Hall was available to students at all times and an infirmary for women students was located next to the dispensary. In addition, the agreement made with the Faulkner County Hospital in 1958 was virtually identical to the services initially offered in the1938 agreement.
The language used in the 1967-1968 catalog regarding student healthcare closely resembles that of the 1950’s. The first paragraph under health service is descriptive of the clinic’s purpose, goals and structure.
Recognizing the importance of sound health, the College takes every precaution to safeguard the health of its students. The services of a practicing physician are retained for the supervision of its health program. A college dispensary in Bernard hall is available to students at all times. Adjoining the dispensary is an infirmary for women students. Two registered nurses reside on the campus and are in charge of these facilities.
The student was still required to receive a physical examination in order to enter UCA, and he or she would still receive medical care from the local hospital, but no mention was made of a tuberculin test being mandatory. It could be argued that if a student had tuberculosis it could be discovered during the mandatory physical examination, or that tuberculosis had been virtually eradicated in the United States, thus making the long-standing policy of a mandatory tuberculosis test irrelevant. However, foreign students who wish to attend UCA still must undergo a skin test for tuberculosis.
Small changes in the overall policy regarding student’s health continued to take place as evidenced by the 1977-1978 catalog. The catalog addresses the issue of students who may suffer from mental or physical conditions that make them a danger to other students. The catalog reads as follows:
The student whose mental condition prevents adjusting satisfactorily to the general pattern of campus life, or
whose physical condition endangers the health of other students, may be required to withdraw from the University.
The 1977-1978 catalog goes on to state that medical and hospitalization insurance is available on a voluntary basis. Students were not required to purchase this health insurance, but were strongly encouraged to do so.
By the fall of 1980 increased student enrollment called for an increase in the number of nurses on staff. According to the 1981 Scroll, UCA Student Health Services had four full-time registered nurses who provided care 24 hours a day. The number of registered nurses had formerly been two. Also, there were three Conway physicians whose services were readily available to the students. The clinic maintained regular daytime operating hours and the nurses were on call at night and on the weekends. In addition, the UCA Department of Public Safety (now the UCA Police Department) provided transportation to students who needed rides to doctors’ offices or to obtain prescription medicine from a pharmacy. For several reasons the UCA Department of Public Safety discontinued this service.
Overtime the requirement of a physical examination for admission to UCA was dropped. However, in its place is the current requirement for each person seeking to register at UCA to present evidence of his or her immunization records. In the September 17, 1987 edition of The Echo, it was reported: “Students will be denied class registration and grades will be withheld if immunization records are not provided for the Health Services Department.” The new policy was created to comply with a decision passed by the Arkansas State Legislature in March 1987, to require students in public and private colleges to show proof of immunization against measles and rubella.
For a short period of time in the late 1980’s, UCA Student Health Services was moved from Bernard Hall to a house on the north side of Bruce Street. However, this location on the northern periphery of the campus proved too inaccessible for patients and Health Services was soon moved back to Bernard. Bernard was well liked because of its central location.
In February 1987, about the same time as the move from Bernard Hall to Bruce Street, the UCA Student Health Services was renamed by the UCA Board of Trustees to Dorothy A. Long Student Health Services. Long had been the Dean of Women, and also taught mathematics at UCA for many years.
Today, the Dorothy A. Long Student Health Services is still housed in Bernard Hall and consists of a group of dedicated health care professionals and support staff providing much-needed service to students, faculty and staff. The addition of Advanced Practice Nurses has enabled Student Health Services to be more comprehensive in providing healthcare to its patients.
The current staff consists of two Advanced Practice Nurses (APN’S), three Registered Nurses (RN’s), one secretary and two student workers. In addition, there are two collaborative medical doctors who can be called upon for assistance.
Services recently added at no increase in fees are: physical examinations, EKG & EKG Interpretation, pulse oximetry, pulmonary function testing, removal of simple lesions by excision or cryotherapy, simple laceration repair, pap smears, prostate & testicular examination and education. All students pay a fee of five dollars upon registration for healthcare, but are treated free of charge at the clinic. Faculty and staff members pay a five-dollar fee for each visit. Approximately 1,100 patients are treated each month in the clinic.