Towne Student Health Center
For Springfield College, the Towne Health Center was established in 1966, when Howard J. Cadwell, Western Mass Electric Chairman, and Wilbert E. Locklin, the ninth president of Springfield College, announced that Springfield College had acquired 5.3 acres of property from the Western Massachusetts Electric Company. Five buildings were obtained, including the Meter Building and what is now Locklin Hall. In 1970, Richard and Marion Towne granted $125,000 to make the Towne Student Health Center at Springfield College possible. This donation allowed the existing Meter Building on Wilbraham Avenue to become the Towne Health Center.
The architectural planning was done by Dalton-Dalton-Little of Cleveland. During the summer of 1970, the renovation of the Towne Health Center was completed. The entire floor was renovated at a cost of $250,000. The reconstructed building took the place of Weiser Infirmary.
The Health Center originally was to be a 15 bed infirmary with extensive outpatient care facilities. The new facility included a nursing station-reception desk area, two large waiting rooms, and three doctor's offices with examining rooms. There were both two and three bed hospital rooms. In the beginning the Towne Health Center contained a variety of clinics that were open at various times throughout the week. These included counseling center, medical clinics, orthopedic clinic, surgical clinics, gynecological clinic and a nurse’s clinic. The Health Center was open 24 hours, 7 days a week except for during school vacations, and was staffed with a full time and part time staff of doctors and nurses.
Today, the Towne Health center is still available to students during the weekdays. The orthopedic, counseling center, medical, and gynecological clinic are still available for students to attend. Additional services such as a nutritional clinic, laboratory testing, allergy shots, IV therapy, EKG’s, prescription writing and physical therapy services are also now available.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
This collection contains information on the Towne Student Health Center. The collection contains floor plans, some information on the dedication, a few Springfield College news releases on the renovation and construction of the Health Center and the Richard P. Towne donations that made it possible, and some exterior and interior photographs.
