UCSC Health Center, the student health center on campus, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. To commemorate this milestone, we are highlighting some of the major changes to our clinic over the years and how they have impacted students.
The UCSC Health Center was purchased by UC Santa Cruz in 1967 as part of a nationwide movement for college campuses to implement their own medical centers. At that time, it became one of only four such facilities on California campuses with an emphasis on serving undergraduate populations. The clinic has undergone several renovations since then and now occupies three floors at Merrill College’s Hahn Building (HC3). With a diverse patient population made up primarily of undergraduates attending UC Santa Cruz in addition to graduate students, staff, and faculty from the wider UC system (including other campuses in California), it is one of the only clinics on campus that accommodates all these groups.
The Health Center has seen many changes over its five decades as a part of UC Santa Cruz, but three in particular stand out to us: our clinic hours changed for student convenience; we added both walk-in appointments with nurses and an urgent care center so people could get medical attention when they needed it without having to go off-campus or wait until the next day; and last year we became licensed by ACCME/COCA as a continuing education provider! These are just some examples that show how far our clinic has come since 1967, but there have been numerous smaller changes too.
In recent years, we have added an online appointment scheduling system and a HIPAA-compliant electronic medical records (EMR) system; the EMR has allowed us to provide better care for our patients through better access to their medical history, which is why it was so important that UCSF Medical Group purchased and installed this new technology in 2006. The Health Center also underwent renovations in 2014 with much needed updates like increased privacy from hallway observers as well as improved wheelchair accessibility.
We are proud of all the work done at UCSC’s health center over these past 50 years not just because of what it means for students on campus today but also because of how far healthcare has come since 1967!
The University of California Santa Cruz Health Center was the first student health center in California when it opened its doors on September 17, 1967. The UCSC Health Center is a full-service medical facility with two doctors and three Advanced Practice Clinicians (APCs) on site who provide both urgent care visits and routine primary healthcare services to the campus community.
The University of California Santa Cruz is situated just 250 miles south of San Francisco but because we are so close to Silicon Valley, our students have access to some of the top researchers in bioinformatics, genomics and other emerging fields. This proximity also allows us to take part in many groundbreaking research projects that offer hope for new treatments for diseases such as diabetes or cancer!
We’re proud today not only to be a part of one the most innovative and forward-thinking research universities in California, but to also offer some of the best health care services available.
The UCSC Health Center has been providing medical services since 1967 when it first opened its doors*. The center is staffed by two doctors and three advanced practice clinicians (APCs) who provide both urgent care visits as well as routine primary healthcare for the campus community.
With 250 miles separating us from San Francisco, we enjoy unparalleled proximity to Silicon Valley one of our region’s top bioinformatics centers with opportunities galore for groundbreaking research projects! We’re proud today not only to be a part-of one of the most innovative and forward-thinking institutions in California,
