VCU and W&M partnership opens medical clinic in downtown Williamsburg

The new clinic is located at 332 North Henry St, a short walk from the heart of campus. Courtesy Photo / WM.EDU

In early April, a new medical clinic, VCU Health at William & Mary, opened in Williamsburg at 332 North Henry St., offering new services for students at the College of William and Mary and members of the Williamsburg community. This clinic is opening as part of a ten-year contract between the College and Virginia Commonwealth University’s health center to expand the health care services that are available locally to students. 

The clinic has 22 exam rooms and provides additional services that are not offered at the Student Health Center. Specialty health care at the clinic will be available to students through a referral process after meeting with a primary care provider at the Student Health Center. 

This location is where VCU Health has been providing prevalence testing to students throughout this academic year but will now offer many other health services as well. 

“This partnership makes academic health care more accessible to everyone who calls Williamsburg home, as the clinic is open to community members,” VCU Health representative Laura Rossacher said in a statement. “The new medical office offers services previously located at VCU Health’s 1162 Professional Dr. location.”

“This partnership makes academic health care more accessible to everyone who calls Williamsburg home, as the clinic is open to community members,” VCU Health representative Laura Rossacher said in a statement. “The new medical office offers services previously located at VCU Health’s 1162 Professional Dr. location.”

Rossacher also spoke about the specific health specialties that will be offered at this new clinic. 

“The new medical office, located at 332 North Henry St. in Williamsburg, provides students — in conjunction with the on-campus Student Health Center and Counseling Center — health care services in areas including behavioral health, orthopedics, virtual urgent care and sports medicine services,” Rossacher said.  

Since the clinic is opening toward the beginning of the ten-year partnership between VCU Health and the College, there are plans to expand the services that are available at this clinic in the coming years, including the addition to provide primary care services.

It is our hope that specialties such as dermatology, rheumatology, neurology, endocrinology among others will become available in the near future,” Dafashy said. “We should expect the collaboration between VCU and the College to evolve over time, and the services to evolve as needs arise.”

This new clinic will also provide services to student-athletes through their sports medicine and orthopedic departments. VCU Health will provide sideline care to athletes at varsity athletic events and aid in the event of acute sports injuries to athletes. This care is not  exclusive to varsity athletes, but will also be available to club and intramural student athletes as well. 

Caitlin Wingertzahn ’24, a member of the Tribe women’s varsity basketball team, expressed excitement about having an orthopedist and sports medicine healthcare provider closer to campus. 

“I was actually recently injured and I ruptured my achilles.” Wingertzahn said. “The day that it happened my trainer called VCU and said ‘can we get her in?’ and they had me in as soon as possible. We drove right over to the hospital and the doctor saw me. They had an MRI scheduled and everything. They were amazing and they were really quick to work with us on such short notice, so having someplace closer I feel like would be awesome because in the event that somebody does get injured again we will have a place closer. They’ve really been awesome with working with our team.”

“I was actually recently injured and I ruptured my achilles.” Wingertzahn said. “The day that it happened my trainer called VCU and said ‘can we get her in?’ and they had me in as soon as possible. We drove right over to the hospital and the doctor saw me. They had an MRI scheduled and everything. They were amazing and they were really quick to work with us on such short notice, so having someplace closer I feel like would be awesome because in the event that somebody does get injured again we will have a place closer. They’ve really been awesome with working with our team.”

Wingertzhan shared her anticipation about the future of the partnership between the College and VCU Health. 

“The fact that we have such a great partnership with them through the school, I just think it’s going to be a great idea.” Wingertzhan said. “I hope people at least know that there is a place close by that we can get to. I honestly thought that there was a place, but when I got hurt I realized that there wasn’t. So to have somewhere close, I guess it just gives peace of mind.”

In addition to providing new services for students, this new clinic also created 17 new jobs in the greater Williamsburg area in addition to people who have already been working for an additional VCU Health outreach clinic located in Williamsburg. 

 

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