Almost every current student knows about University Health Services (UHS) and has probably been there after catching the infamous flu that seems to be circulating every year. Although we take for granted its convenience and variety of services, UHS has a long history that can be traced across campus over the past 100 years.
After an outbreak of scarlet fever at Penn State in 1913, the university recognized the need for an established student health service and named it the College Health Service. The administration decided to spend just $5,000 to convert the dean's residence at the College of Mines into a clinic. The building is now known as Ilsen House and is located next to the library.
The cottage opened in January 1915 under the direction of a singular physician, Dr. Warren Forsythe, and two nurses with a new purpose and name: the Health Services Building. The clinic included six patient beds, an operating room, a pharmacy, and a health services examination room, as well as a waiting room and Dr. Forsyth's private office.
University health services were only available to students for a total of nine hours per week on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and Saturday evenings. To visit overnight students, you had to pay 50 cents during the day and $1 at night. A student's one night stay costs him $1.25.
The Health Services Building was used as a clinic for 15 years until 1929. Thanks to generous donations from Pennsylvania potato growers, the university built and opened a larger facility. The new building on Shortridge Road was known as Penn State University Hospital and opened in 1929.
A 1929 floor plan shows that the new building included a small operating room, an office, an ambulance reception area, and a kitchen, as well as an examination room and beds.
By this time, the staff had grown to include two doctors and seven nurses, while the student population grew even more rapidly to a total of about 6,000. Although moving to a new building was a step in the right direction, the facilities were far from adequate. Because Mount Nittany Medical Center had not yet been built, critically ill patients had to travel more than 10 miles to the hospital in Bellefonte.
As the number of students has increased in recent decades, the building has had to be expanded. Pennsylvania State University received funds for expansion from the State Central Authority in 1953 and was completed in 1958. When the building reopened, it was renamed the Ritenour Health Center in honor of former Penn State alumnus and physician Dr. Joseph Ritenour. He is the person who succeeded Dr. Forsyth.
Renovations in the 1950s included the construction of two two-story wings on either side of the original hospital. As the number of students reached 12,000, the need for more space was undeniable. The total addition was approximately 20,000 square feet and cost him $1.25 million (just over $14.2 million adjusted for inflation).
This update added an X-ray machine, an examination room, an increased number of treatment and consultation rooms, a small area for a dental office, and a psychological consulting room.
In subsequent years, more services and specialties were added to Ritenour Health Center, including physical therapy, outreach, and preventive health campaigns. Specifically, a women's health department was added to focus on preventive care for women, including annual exams and access to contraceptives.
The health center also has a psychiatric clinic, which was merged with two other campus services in the 1980s to create Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). Along the way, the department's name changed to University Health Services, which today's students are familiar with.
Despite the addition of space and services to Ritenour, many students still complained about long wait times and crowding, and that didn't even take into account the building's age. In 2004, the board floated the idea of constructing a new building to house her UHS.
In the summer of 2006, the Board approved preliminary plans for the $26 million building, scheduled to be completed in 2008. This facility, called the Student Health Center, opened in June 2008 and is what students today know as UHS.
New construction has allowed UHS and the Student Health Center to leap into the modern era with state-of-the-art exam rooms, a large staff, and in-house radiology and laboratory services. As medicine and healthcare constantly evolve, so will UHS.
