January 13, 2010

Healthy Relationships

By Jack Patton, AIA, LEED®AP as published in Athletic Business Magazine's November 2009 Issue

Vibrant student recreation centers have been mainstays of contemporary college campuses. So have health-conscious students. To take full advantage of these trends, many institutions are merging their recreation center
and student health center into a single facility. Call it a one-stop campus shop for enhanced student wellness.

Merged departments benefit from cross-programming opportunities and synergies inherent to cohabitation. Student recreation, which typically aids campus recruiting, retention and overall quality of life, also provides students with the opportunity to form lifelong healthy living habits. Student health deals primarily in curative healthcare, often including psychological, social and emotional counseling as program offerings. Direct association between the two
entitles affords the opportunity to reach the campus population in a wellness mode - before curative medicine is necessary.