Lyon students will no longer have to leave campus to seek medical care.

The College entered into a partnership with ARcare this fall in order to provide on-campus doctor visits and other medical care.

ARcare is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that operates over 50 clinics in the state of Arkansas and 10 others in Kentucky and Mississippi. Its mission is to provide “health for all.” No patient is turned away, regardless of their ability to pay for services. 

This new partnership means that the College’s Health and Wellness Office can now offer strep tests, urine tests, pregnancy tests, sexually transmitted infections (STI) tests, flu tests, COVID-19 tests and more on campus, rather than referring a student to an off-site clinic.

Additionally, students can use ARcare’s telehealth visits to address illnesses and minor injuries, medication refills, immunizations, annual wellness exams, school/sports physicals, behavioral health services and referrals, chronic care management and medical nutrition therapy.

Director of Health and Wellness Jennifer Morrison said Lyon reached out to ARcare about being an on-campus provider so that students would no longer have to leave campus to seek medical care.

“You still need to make an appointment with me and fill out new patient paperwork to be seen,” she said. “We can also schedule immunizations to be given on campus, although they won’t be stored here.”

Morrison continued, “If you are seeking any type of vaccination, please let me know, and I can usually get it within a week or so.”

ARcare began partnering with secondary schools in 2019 to provide telehealth services to staff and students and currently serves 13 school districts. Lyon College is the first institution of higher education that ARcare will be serving.

Clint  Shackelford, Senior Vice President of Operations for ARcare, said Lyon College was chosen because ARcare already partners with the Batesville School District and knew the city had four brick and mortar clinics nearby. 

“We know that Lyon College is another leader in the city,” Shackelford said. “We have met with Lyon leadership over the past few years, and our partnership has finally come to fruition.”

Any student, faculty or staff member will be able to go to the Health and Wellness Office in Edwards Commons and be seen by an ARcare provider, regardless of their means to pay or their insurance carrier. 

 The telehealth visits typically occur within 10 minutes, Shackelford said, and the ARcare provider can send a script to any pharmacy that the patient chooses.

Shackelford continued, “We will not dispense medications on campus, but we will send them to the pharmacy of choice for the patient.”  

ARcare’s hours will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

You must be an ARcare patient to see the provider on campus. To get started, scan the QR code below and follow the instructions.