On Jan. 13, Princeton University Health Services (UHS) officially relocated to Frist Health Center (FHC). The new location is north of Goheen Walk, near the old McCosh Health Center.
The construction of Frist Health Center is part of the University’s efforts to bolster healthcare services for members of the Princeton community.
“McCosh Health Center was built in 1925 at a time when healthcare delivery systems were entirely different than those of today, and Princeton had many fewer students,” UHS Director Janet Finnie ’84 wrote to The Daily Princetonian. “Frist Health Center is larger, but is also redesigned to support efficient and effective healthcare delivery.”
When walking into the lobby of FHC, visitors are greeted by a large open space with tall windows. The building itself is a mix of past and present, with the more modern exterior built around some of the old brick buildings that already existed.
“I was surprised by how big it was and how much natural light there was inside,” Angie Challman ’25 told the ‘Prince’ in an interview.
“Frist Health Center was designed to create a warm, welcoming, and inviting environment for students,” Finnie wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “No matter what entrance you use to enter the building, you will experience a soaring, light-filled atrium and the Isabella McCosh Garden, which utilizes biophilic design concepts to increase student and occupant connectivity to the natural environment.”
Finnie explained that FHC was designed with sustainability features, such as using timber to sequester carbon that would otherwise be released back into the atmosphere.
While the construction of the building was deliberate, some students were not impressed with FHC’s outward appearance.
“It looks like a dining hall,” remarked Zhuolin Xiang GS.
“I went inside yesterday, and it was really modern and pretty,” Ladan Abdullahi ’28 said in an interview with the ‘Prince.’ “It doesn’t really fit the aesthetic of the rest of the college, but it’s pretty nice inside.”
For others, the new building brought greater convenience. FHC includes several new amenities that McCosh Health Center did not have, such as the new intercom system that allows students to talk with a nurse after hours about any problems that may arise.
“I had to get an ice pack for a friend the other day, and it was after hours, so I just went to the intercom system, and it was really efficient,” Yiling Li ’26 told the ‘Prince.’
Li discussed the difficulty in solidifying a same-day appointment in the old McCosh Health Center, telling the ‘Prince’ that, in contrast, “[FHC] was easier.”
When discussing the improvements made for FHC, Finnie remarked that the new building is equipped with “private rooms and bathrooms for overnight patients in the infirmary, a striking student lounge, a yoga/meditation contemplative space, a new multipurpose room that will be a shared resource for campus partners, and more.”
“The number of offices for counselors was increased, as were the number of exam rooms available to serve students,” she added.
While FHC provides Princeton students and faculty on campus with an upgraded facility for health services, the center’s opening was not an event that all on campus were aware of.
In a campus-wide email sent on Dec. 5, Finnie and UHS Executive Director John Kolligian Jr. announced key dates related to the opening of FHC, with the relocation of UHS officially taking place on Jan. 13.
Though students and faculty returned to campus from winter recess soon after the reopening, UHS did not send out a reminder to the campus population.
“I honestly forgot the new health center was opening,” Challman explained. “I thought [the building] was the new res[idential] college.”
“I just found out [about FHC opening] a few days ago,” Li added.
For students looking to take advantage of the new and expanded services offered, the UHS website has been updated to reflect the changes.
The FHC is open Monday through Friday from 7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Doug Schwartz is a staff News writer and an associate Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Annapolis, Md., and typically covers town and gown, facilities and housing, and health for News.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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