PNW will improve staff health services and give students a hands-on learning experience when a new health center opens in Hammond later this fall.

The university will open a Center for Healthy Living in collaboration with One to One Health, a health management company that has operated a health service at Purdue’s West Lafayette campus since 2017. 

“We interviewed many vendors with hopes of contracting with us on this health endeavor,” said Kendra Gardin, the university’s Health and Wellness manager. “A big reason for continuing the relationship [with One to One] was their willingness to be flexible with the specific needs we wanted for our campus, primarily allowing students majoring in the Health Sciences to gain real-world experience in the clinic.” 

Class credits are still being worked out, but students will have the opportunity to work and train at the clinic.

The new health center will replace the Regional Health clinic that has operated at 2250 173rd St. 

Details about services to be offered at the center have yet to be defined, but Gardin said the clinic will be staffed by a primary care doctor, a nurse practitioner and a medical assistant. The facility is expected to provide broader health care opportunities for patients. It will be open to faculty, staff, their spouses and children, and retirees that have signed up for coverage through Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

To access care at the facility, patients must be enrolled in the university’s Healthy Boiler Wellness program, a multi-faceted approach to overall well-being. It involves behavioral health, financial wellness, physical health, social wellness and work-life integration. The program provides care in each area by offering cost-controlled benefits and easily accessible resources that help employees and their families. 

“The goal for the program is to provide benefits-eligible employees and spouses covered on a Purdue health plan an opportunity to improve their health and wellness and earn financial incentives at the same time,” Gardin said. “Healthy Boiler encourages employees and their dependents to be aware of their health risks and become more active in maintaining/improving their overall health.”