CWU Health Center Again Nationally Accredited

ELLENSBURG, Wash. - During any given year, about 60 percent of Central Washington University's Ellensburg student body will, at some point, visit the health and counseling center.

Open Mondays through Saturdays, the center includes a full lab, x-ray equipment, urgent care room and a sickroom. Typically, upper respiratory infections -- sinus, chest colds and sore throats - are the top reason for health-related visits.

Students taking advantage of the center's services can again rest assured that their health care is in excellent hands. That's because, for the third time, Central's student health center has been reaccredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, Inc. (AAAHC), a national organization based in Wilmette, Ill.

"Accreditation underscores our long-standing commitment to providing the highest possible levels of quality care to the community we serve," says Bob Trumpy, CWU senior director of health, counseling and wellness services.

The new, three-year accreditation - the maximum period allowed -- came following an extensive on-site survey of the center's facilities and services last October.

"They determined that our medical services and performance have successfully fulfilled a series of rigorous and nationally recognized standards for quality health care," Trumpy adds.

Those standards include in the areas of patient's rights, quality of care, quality management and improvement, clinical records, environmental safety, governance and administration.

CWU's student health center is one of only three at universities in the state, and the only one at a regional institution, that has received accreditation.

Trumpy went on to say that, "Dr. (Art) DePalma and his staff, have done a wonderful job in sustaining the center's high degree of service and professionalism."

DePalma, a certified family practitioner, is the health center's medical director. A retired Air Force reserve colonel and a flight surgeon, he leads a team of eight health care professionals there.

CWU students, taking six or more credits, pay a $60 mandatory fee ($35 for summer quarter) which funds university health, counseling and wellness services.

Contact: Bob Trumpy (509-963-1876/fax 509-963-1886/e-mail: trumpyr@cwu.edu)

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