Now that a miscommunication between the Ball State University Police and Health Center has cleared up, sick students can use Ball State's escort service to travel off campus.
Student Government Association's Student Services committee discovered the Amelia T. Wood Health Center was having problems transporting students to off-campus medical facilities and began researching possible solutions. Health Center Director Kent Bullis said transportation was most needed to the Imaging Center on White River Boulevard.
However, the escort service can drive students to and from off-campus locations for "the treatment of unexpected medical problems," according to university policy. This does not include scheduled appointments or trips to pharmacies.
After discovering the Health Center was unaware of the services already available, Director of Public Safety Gene Burton spoke with Bullis. They were able to clear up the misunderstanding, Burton said.
"In the past when we called dispatch, sometimes they have agreed to take someone off campus and sometimes they wouldn't," Bullis said. "I thought we were getting away with it, and I didn't pursue it because I thought it was against policy."
Since Bullis and Burton talked on last Wednesday, several students have used the escort service to go to off-campus medical facilities, Bullis said.
There is still a problem transporting critically ill students, as the escort drivers are not trained to assist them. If the escort driver and a police officer determine a student needs additional assistance, they will call an ambulance, Burton said.
The Health Center is looking into another option where a staff member could ride with the student in the escort van during situations where the student is too sick to travel alone but not sick enough to take an ambulance, Bullis said.
"It would really provide all the service we need with the least amount of disruption and cost to the university and ultimately to the students," he said.
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