After nurse practitioner Brenda McSherry left Stephens College in April, Dr. Kathy Doisy, a board certified pediatrician and graduate of the University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio with 18 years of experience in the medical field, took the helm as director of health services.

“I graduated medical school in 1994 and completed my residency at the University of Missouri,” Doisy said.

She has been in practice since 1998. She decided to leave her practice and make the transition to Stephens in the fall of 2012 as the director of health services and said she is happy with her decision.

“I (came) to Stephens College to find a good balance between the family that I adore at home and to be able to practice the medicine that I love,” Doisy said.

Dr. Doisy works alongside psychologist Gina Sanders and administrative assistant Mandi Schroff. Together, they work to provide the Stephens community with quality health care through a variety of services.

Most students come to health services for “upper respiratory infections and gynecological concerns,” Schroff said. “If girls have a UTI (urinary tract infection), need birth control or testing, they come here.”

Although the online list of services seems limited, written materials available inside the health services office delve more deeply into the types of care the staff provides. Listed online as simply “women’s health examinations,” this service can include pap smears, human papillomavirus and other sexually transmitted disease testing, pregnancy testing, urinary tract infection testing, birth control prescriptions and referrals to specialists. Listed online as “treatment for minor illnesses and injuries,” this service can include writing prescriptions, ordering diagnostic tests, administering allergy injections, immunizations, urinalysis, rapid strep tests, over-the-counter medications and referrals to specialists. Doisy and her staff provide much more comprehensive care than the online listings may lead students to believe.

Testing for Group A streptococcus and pregnancy can take place in the health services center, while others must be sent elsewhere to be processed or tested entirely. Stephens cannot process urine tests, pap smears or testing for STDs; those tests are taken at health services and sent to Boyce & Bynum Pathology Laboratories, P.C. for processing. Other tests, such as blood work, are referred to Boyce & Bynum as well, because health services does not draw blood.

Boyce & amp; Bynum services are offered at six Columbia locations, including Boone Clinic, Broadway Medical Plaza and Columbia Medical Plaza, available at a significant discount.

“Most of the tests students have (processed) don’t cost more than about $21. They usually run between $18 and $21,” Schroff said.

Not only is Doisy a highly-qualified doctor capable of offering a wide range of services, but she and her office work hard to ensure each and every Stephens student has access to quality healthcare they can afford.

Last semester, health services moved from the basement of Stamper Commons to a newly remodeled house at 103 Willis across from the Warehouse Theater. They are open from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For an appointment, call Mandi Schroff at 573-876-7157 or email [email protected]