New Campus Care medical director to focus on education, improving health care for Ohio students

(ATHENS, OHIO — April 18, 2012) John J. Kemerer, D.O., the new medical director of Campus Care, wants to move beyond treating Ohio University students when they’re sick. He sees lifelong health education as one of the most exciting job duties of the Campus Care director.

“The word doctor is from the Latin ‘doceō,’ which means ‘I teach,’ and part of our job should always be to teach our patients,” Dr. Kemerer said. “In this case, we're trying to educate the students on how to take better care of themselves and prevent diseases.”

One way he intends to reach students is by using Twitter to share news about campus health care issues. Dr. Kemerer is no stranger to Twitter, since he and his wife, Kay, have five teenage children.

Students can find his health care tweets by following @DrKemerer.

Dr. Kemerer brings 21 years of experience in medicine to Campus Care, the recently revitalized student health services for Ohio University students.

Jack Brose, D.O., executive dean for health affairs at Ohio University and dean of the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, said Dr. Kemerer would continue the process that started in 2010 of making Campus Care a first-class health care center for students.

“Dr. Kemerer is very personable and has excellent communication and management skills,” Dr. Brose said. “Having Dr. Kemerer in Campus Care will provide strong administrative support while making available an additional health care provider. This will build on Campus Care’s recent successes in providing outstanding acute and chronic care with significantly shorter wait times.”

In August 2010, OU-HCOM assumed responsibility for student health services from the Division of Student Affairs. The college then contracted with University Medical Associates (UMA), a not-for-profit health care organization that serves as the faculty practice plan for OU-HCOM, to redevelop and manage student health care services.

Steven Davies, CEO of UMA, explained that the advisory committee for Campus Care identified a medical director position as a pivotal leadership addition that would be necessary for the improvement of student medical care and health services.

“Adding a high-quality physician and medical director like Dr. Kemerer to our already outstanding team of health care providers at Campus Care will help us ensure that we continue to provide quality and affordable medical care to the Ohio University student body.”

Dr. Kemerer has owned and operated the Valley Urgent Care in Saginaw, Mich., since 1992. His experience will help him improve Campus Care, which also functions as an urgent care unit for students, according to Davies. Dr. Kemerer spent three years as a staff physician in dermatology in Lansing, Mich., while launching the urgent care center. Previously, he worked at an emergency department at Bay Medical Center and as a staff physician at Red-Med in Bay City, Mich.

“Dr. Kemerer’s medical practice experience fits extremely well with the setting we have at Campus Care. It is a fast-paced, high volume environment with a very wide variety of medical needs being served,” Davies said.

Campus Care is often the first place where students will experience a health care system on their own without their parents, said Dr. Kemerer. He is passionate about students having excellent health care experiences. “It’s important to make the process simple and easy,” he said.

In January, Dr. Kemerer attended the open house for Campus Care’s newly renovated facility. The facility now features 22 additional patient rooms, new waiting areas, and private check-in and registration desks.

In addition to his duties as director of Campus Care, Dr. Kemerer will serve as an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at OU-HCOM. Previously, he was a clinical preceptor at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. since 2003 and as an assistant clinical professor at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich., since 2002.

He also recently received a commission as a major in the United States Army Reserve Medical Department.