College of Medicine to open health clinic

UCF students, staff and local community residents will get the opportunity to have their health needs taken care of — all while benefiting the goals of their fellow Knights and university staff.

On Oct. 25, the College of Medicine will hold an open house for UCF Pegasus Health, an outpatient medical facility operated by the college's practicing physician educators. The doors will be open to the community from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

"We are giving back to the community that helped create us," said Wendy Sarubbi, coordinator of information and public services for the College of Medicine. "[Potential patients] can expect to meet our doctors at the open house and see what their perspectives on medicine are. We hope that with all of this, [the] UCF community will see how convenient the facility really is."

The facility, which is located on the corner of University Boulevard and Quadrangle Boulevard, will officially begin taking patients ages 16 and older in November.

"I think that [the College of Medicine] opening this facility is huge," senior micro & molecular biology major Nina Morgan said. "It shows that the program is definitely expanding, and it has the potential to make a great impact on the surrounding community."

The center will offer primary health services to patients, including internal, family and geriatric medical care. UCF Pegasus Health will also offer assistance in sports medicine, rheumatology, neurology and infectious diseases.

In addition to medical appointments, the health facility will also offer on-site lab and radiology for ultrasound and bone density services to patients.

Sarubbi said the goal of the facility is to stand out by being a leader in providing health care while focusing on the comfort of the patient. The building will feature patient-coordination care rooms where doctors and patients can sit down and discuss health goals and offer an overall calming atmosphere.

"What potential patients will discover is that the facility is not really set up like a doctor's office," Sarubbi said. "It's a very soothing, relaxing, almost spa-like office."

A total of 15 practicing physicians will help serve the community by offering a range of different skill sets that they also teach in the classroom. Each physician practicing at Pegasus Health has also been trained in Ritz Carlton hospitality training to ensure that each patient gets the best experience.

Sarubbi said the clinic will add more doctors as they see fit, and new patients will have the opportunity to meet the doctors working at UCF Pegasus Health during the open house. This will enable potential patients to get an idea of the physician's views on medicine.

"The fact that these physicians are also educators is great," Morgan said. "It allows them to get in touch with the community and better their skills to teach their students."

Senior micro & molecular biology major Jenna Carpenter hopes to pursue medical school and thinks the clinic adds to the appeal of UCF's College of Medicine.

"The College of Medicine is so new that a lot of people don't really know that one even exists at UCF, so [the new facility] is great to get the medical college more well-known in the community," she said. "It'll help get the word out about UCF's accomplishments, as well."

The College of Medicine recently received provisional accreditation, the second to last step to becoming certified to procure degrees.

Sarubbi said that with 180 enrolled students, the new clinic is the next step for the school and aids in their progression.

"The predominant advantage of this is that it brings our faculty into contact with patients so it allows them real world experience, and that's important," Sarubbi said. "Most medical schools have a faculty clinical practice, and this is the next step in our growth as a medical school."

Morgan reflects Sarubbi's vision. She said that with the opening of UCF Pegasus Health, she thinks the surrounding area will see an impact.

"The clinic will make a big difference in the community along with UCF in general," Morgan said. "The college just opened a few years ago and for them to open this clinic when they're so new shows a lot."