For 30 years, Carleton’s Student Health and Counseling (SHAC) office has been “temporarily” located at the bottom of Davis Hall. Although plans have been started, paused, and stopped multiple times over the past decades, the Student Life and Housing Plan has now set a definite course of action for these vital services.
Alongside major townhouse renovations and construction, the new SHAC building will be located on the southeast corner of Union and First Street. The schematics indicate modern facilities that emphasize increased rooms for medical treatment, as well as solo and group therapy spaces. Students will also have access to specific parts of the building during non-work hours and weekends.
Although SHAC makes do with its current location, it isn’t the best place to fully serve the Carleton community. SHAC director Marit Lysne says that “the biggest advantage will be that this facility is a space that is intentionally designed for healthcare, unlike our current facility, which was retrofitted into existing residence hall spaces. A space deliberately for us will lead to the improvement of the student experience, patient privacy, and efficiencies in SHAC’s provision of services.”
COVID showed Carleton–along with the rest of the world–how important it is for healthcare structures to be adaptable as the demands of the surrounding community change. Lysne says she is excited that the “new design also allows for future growth and innovation.”
Providing on-campus healthcare is vital for the wellbeing of the Carleton community due to Northfield’s rural location and the demographics of a college campus. Although urgent care and clinics are within driving distance, having access to medicine, counseling, and injury relief a couple minutes from anywhere on campus makes Carleton a much safer space. Lysne also notes that “18 to 25 is the time of life when the onset of major mental illness typically emerges. So having an integrated healthcare model like SHAC offers, which serves students’ physical health, mental health and psychiatry needs, plays an integral role in helping Carls stay healthy and fully engaged in life at Carleton.”
As the Student Life and Housing Plan continues its course over the next couple of years, SHAC is ready to make its move. Lysne says that “any support that can be provided by our broad Carleton community to sustain SHAC services will aid in assuring that growing mental health demands are met, suicide prevention and intervention continues, and healthcare services remain imbedded on campus.”