Watkins Health Services at Kansas University

For the first time, Kansas University’s on-campus student health center is offering a medical clinic for KU employees.

The Immediate Care Clinic at Watkins Health Services sees currently employed KU faculty and staff, as well as employees of KU Athletics, KU Memorial Unions, KU Alumni Association, KU Endowment Association, Hilltop Child Development Center and the ROTC program.

The clinic treats acute problems like bone, joint, respiratory, gastrointestinal, urinary or skin issues, according to an announcement from Watkins. It’s open during business hours and accepts walk-ins.

The clinic isn’t meant to compete with other community health care services or to replace primary physician care, said Douglas Dechairo, Watkins director and chief of staff.

Rather, it’s envisioned to be a convenient benefit to on-campus employees, he said.

The clinic is also hoped to help Watkins become less dependent on student fees.

Currently, Watkins Health Services is funded roughly 70 percent by a health fee paid by students and about 30 percent by “fee for services” revenue, or money reimbursed to Watkins by health insurance companies after they are billed for services, Dechairo said. The more faculty and staff that come in, the more revenue Watkins stands to earn from insurance reimbursements.

The clinic sprang from conversations Dechairo said he had with employees on the hill since taking over at Watkins two years ago.

“Why can’t we come see you?” he said they asked. “I took that to heart.”

A survey of about 400 faculty and staff members indicated that about 75 percent would like to have an urgent care-type clinic on campus, he said.

Watkins hired a nurse practitioner to staff the clinic, which opened Nov. 30 on the second floor of the health center, in empty rooms formerly occupied by KU’s sports medicine clinic.

So far it sees about three or four employees a day, Dechairo said. He said when no patients are in the clinic, the nurse practitioner helps in the student clinic downstairs.

Student Senate and the provost’s office considered the clinic and supported it as long as it does not take away services from students, Dechairo said. He said the new clinic is a separate cost center and expects to provide financial updates.

“Like any new enterprise, we’ll probably be a little bit red in the beginning,” Dechairo said. “But I’m hoping by year one that we’ll be in the black.”

Previously, Watkins provided only limited services to KU employees. Dechairo said those included prescription filling, physician-ordered x-rays and labwork, hard-to-find vaccines needed for travel to foreign countries and specialized occupational physicals for facilities workers.