This is an opportunity to add resources and expertise while maintaining a personal touch. Prisma Health is the largest health care system in our area and as such brings with it the largest network of health care practitioners and specialists to serve Furman’s student body. Prisma Health will be able to provide enhanced services such as virtual consultation applications for health care (Smart Exam) and a pharmacy courier service that is able to deliver prescriptions to the campus. The Prisma Health partnership will also give students direct access to Prisma Health’s Travelers Rest Family Medicine practice on Saturdays.
The location for the Student Health Center will not change. Prisma Healthwill operate from the Earle Infirmary location, which is being renamed the Earle Student Health Center.
The Center will maintain its hours of operation: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. The clinic in Travelers Rest is open on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to noon.
The Center operated by Prisma Health will include the same services as in the past: The Center will continue to provide acute care, care for chronic illnesses (including intermittent exacerbations), travel medicine, immunization, allergy injections, TB testing, basic women’s health, and STD testing. Prisma Health will also provide the following additional services:
- Pharmacy courier service
- Telemedicine virtual application, Smart Exam, which can be used to receive a diagnosis, treatment plan and prescription if needed, for a number of common illnesses
- Access to Prisma Health Travelers Rest Family Medicine practice on Saturday mornings
The Center will be managed by a physician as medical director who will oversee two nurse practitioners and the complete nursing and administrative staff. We are moving away from the model of having medical students and residents rotating through the center in order to enhance the continuity and care of students and to get students seen in a quicker and more efficient manner.
The Earle Student Health Center will operate like other Prisma Health physician offices/health practices. Students should bring their health insurance card with them when visiting the Center. Students’ primary insurance provider will be billed. Furman will provide all students with a Student Sickness Benefits Plan (at no additional cost) that will generally cover co-payments.
Prisma Health is contracted with most local and national insurers. If the student is covered by a plan with which Prisma Health is not contracted, additional out of pocket expense may be incurred if the cost is above the plan that Furman provides.
Furman is enrolling every student at no additional cost in a Student Sickness Benefits Plan so that all students have some level of coverage to access the Earle Student Health Center. Very few procedures in the Center would cost more than the Sickness Plan would cover.
Yes, students should bring their insurance card with them to the Center for their first visit. Prisma Health uses a medical records system that will allow them to keep a digital copy of the card for future visits, so students only need to bring their card once per calendar year (or unless they change insurance providers). The Student Sickness Benefits Plan provided by Furman will be included in each students’ medical record in the Prisma Health system without the need for a separate card.
International students will continue to be required to purchase health insurance coverage through a designated provider. This insurance plan will be accepted at the Earle Student Health Center, as well as other Prisma Health providers in the community. International students will also be enrolled in the Student Sickness Benefits Plan.
Students will still be able to drop in at the Earle Student Health Center and be seen. However, students may also schedule an appointment by calling the Center. We are also working toward online and mobile app appointment scheduling.
The current Furman employees working in the Earle Infirmary have the option to join the Prisma Health staff and continue working at the Earle Student Health Center.
Dr. Sarah Hinton will continue to serve in the center as the Interim Medical Director until Furman and Prisma Health can coordinate a search for a permanent director.
As a covered entity under the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Prisma Health takes the privacy of its patients very seriously. All health information for Student Health Center patients will be handled with the utmost security and responsibility, just as it is for all of the patients of Prisma Health’s hospitals, physician offices, and outpatient centers.
The Center’s records will be moved to the Prisma Health electronic health records system, which is covered by HIPAA. Health information from the Center will continue to be covered by FERPA to protect privacy.
Employee Clinic/HR Office
The volume of student and employee health traffic to the Center has increased significantly, which results in more wait time for everyone. Separating the employee clinic gives students and our employees another level of privacy. Placing the employee health clinic adjacent to the new Human Resources Office will give employees who need consultation related to a health issue immediate access. In addition, parking at the new employee facility will be much easier for quick entrance and exit.
The new HR office and employee clinic will be co-located near the intersection of Duncan Chapel and Old Buncombe roads, at 5013 Old Buncombe Road, Units C & D, Greenville, SC 29617. The HR satellite office will be in Furman Hall, Room 112.
The new HR office will be open 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Hours for the satellite HR office are to be determined. The new employee clinic will be open:
- Monday, 12:30-4:30 p.m.
- Tuesday, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
- Thursday, 12:30-4:30 p.m.
The employee clinic is available to CIGNA covered and non-covered faculty/staff and their spouses/domestic partners. The employee clinic is NOT available to dependent children.
Prisma Health will continue to provide a nurse practitioner at the clinic.