By Ta’Leah Van Sistine, community reporter/editor
The president of UW-Stout’s Student Association remains concerned about some aspects of next month’s scheduled switch from the current Student Health Services (SHS) to Prevea Health, two weeks after an open forum was held to discuss the change with the campus community.
Devin Dumke said the Nov. 15 forum made clear that the change would temporarily jeopardize the status of transgender care at UW-Stout. In an email to the CVPost on Tuesday, he wrote that it was time for the school’s student government to get involved, since Prevea representatives told the forum that their goal is to offer gender-affirming care to new patients starting in the Fall 2022 semester.
His email repeated earlier comments that “a nine-month gap at minimum is not acceptable to the student body, especially given the history of our institution as a leader in providing transgender care. We can do better and I think there are options available to us as long as we put the work in to make it happen.”
Dumke then added his belief that “the Stout Student Association is taking necessary steps to address student concerns.” He said that although he hoped the forum “would address many of the concerns raised, I believe the grace period has expired and the time has come for our student government to act.”
Open Records request largely ignored
Meanwhile, the Chippewa Valley Post has been unable to learn the full membership of the RFP (Request for Proposal) committee that ultimately selected Prevea over two competing bids as the university’s outside health services provider. The other two bidders were Marshfield Clinic and Weber Health, as reported earlier.
The CVPost submitted a request for the membership information in the first week of November as part of a wide-ranging effort under Wisconsin’s Open Records law. Its purpose was to learn more about the background of the decision to outsource the student healthcare operation.
Kristi Krimpelbein, chief of staff for the chancellor’s office, has provided some of the requested information but has yet to respond with the names of the committee members. In an email last week, she wrote that she was out of the office until this past Monday and would review the request when she returned.
There has been no further communication from her.
Staff Changes
One key question at the Nov. 15 forum was whether Dr. Alexandra Hall, a family physician who has been providing transgender health care at SHS, will be on staff through the Prevea arrangement. The Dean of Students, Sandra Scott, said Hall will not be employed at Prevea.
Kristin Rubenzer – the supervisor of Prevea’s primary care clinics that serve companies, municipalities and universities in Wisconsin’s western region – said all of the current SHS staff members were welcomed to apply to the Prevea partnership, and all who applied was interviewed. Most of the interviewed staff members were offered a position at Prevea, Rubenzer said.
In an email to the CVPost, Hall didn’t answer questions about why she won’t be continuing at SHS under the Prevea partnership. She also holds a position as a senior lecturer in UW-Stout’s Biology department.
Hall directed the CVPost‘s questions to Krimpelbein with the comment that Krimpelbein is in charge of communication about the Prevea partnership.
Krimpelbein hasn’t answered several emails from the CVPost with questions about Hall.
Rubenzer said during the open forum that students may see “a familiar face or two” once Prevea takes over, but the official staff will not be introduced until closer to January.
Concerns expressed
Students already receiving hormone replacement therapy (HRT) from SHS will continue receiving treatments throughout the transition to Prevea. However, Rubenzer told the forum that Prevea will use the time between January and the fall semester to learn and prepare for how to initiate HRT safely.
“There may be a few months of a lapse in order to make sure that we have all of our ducks in a row with this and feel that we’re delivering very competent, good care to all of you,” Rubenzer said.
Six of about 40 total participants in the forum raised concerns about the lapse in transgender health care that will take place. Coltan Schoenike, a UW-Stout alum and a mental health practitioner in the Menomonie area, raised questions on behalf of transgender students.
Schoenike said while they’re “very happy” that students already seeking HRT at SHS can continue to do so, they “can’t in good conscience endorse this change when it’s coming at the expense of Stout’s most vulnerable students.”
Rubenzer said Prevea will help students – who want to start HRT once Prevea takes over – find another provider in Menomonie or in their respective hometowns during the months Prevea isn’t able to provide this care.
Lisa Raethke, interim director of SHS, said SHS will function as it normally does until the end of the semester, so new patients are still being taken for things like birth control.
For HRT, though, Raethke said SHS needs almost a month to establish that care for students, so SHS isn’t able to accept any new patients at this point in the semester. Raethke emphasized that this has been the case for every semester – not just this year – where SHS cannot accept certain appointments toward its end.
Open Records Law provisions
Dumke said the initial decision to replace SHS with an outside provider was an administrative decision and wasn’t left to a committee. However, emails from UW-Stout administrators have left some questions about this and the CVPost is trying to clarify this by invoking the state’s Open Records law.
That series of statutes notes in its initial “Declaration of policy” (Section 19.31) that “all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those officers and employees who represent them.”
It adds that the following six sections of the law “shall be construed in every instance with a presumption of complete public access, consistent with the conduct of governmental business. The denial of public access generally is contrary to the public interest, and only in an exceptional case may access be denied.”
One record that was provided to the CVPost said Todd Pooler, a regional assistant purchasing director for the UW-System, convened the RFP committee with input from UW-Stout, but the committee members were redacted. Pooler works for the Northwest Regional Procurement Center for Excellence which was set up in 2019 as a cooperative effort among UW-Stout, UW-Eau Claire and UW-River Falls.
Jacqueline Bonneville, UW-Stout’s interim associate dean of students, shared during the open forum that she was on the RFP committee, along with representatives from athletics and health services, among several other campus departments. Dumke told the CVPost he was also a committee member.
Prevea offerings
Rubenzer said at the forum that UW-Stout students who are currently enrolled and have paid the segregated fees will be eligible for seeking care at the Prevea student health clinic, as well as Prevea Urgent Care, Virtual Care and Care After Hours.
The location, phone number and hours of the Prevea clinic – during the fall and spring semesters – will be the same as SHS currently. The Prevea clinic will also be open for modified hours three days a week during summer and winter sessions, as well as student breaks, Rubenzer said.
The UW-Stout student segregated fee will cover the cost of most services offered at the Prevea clinic, as well as the after-hours offerings through urgent care, virtual care and care after hours.
Ken Johnson, chief medical officer and vice president of operations for Prevea’s western Wisconsin region, told the forum that during the transition, students should call and make appointments the same way they do now.
“We want this to be as seamless as possible,” Johnson said.
Any medication dispensed from the Prevea clinic will have a copay, but Rubenzer said the cost will be less than at a local pharmacy, and self-injection kits will still be available at the same price they are now at SHS.
Contraceptives will be available through the Prevea clinic, Rubenzer said, and there will be “a few types of birth control,” but for “more extensive types” Prevea will write a prescription.
Walk-in appointments will be available through Prevea, but advance appointments are preferred, Rubenzer said.
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