Dr. George Corey, most recently the assistant medical director at University Health Services, has been appointed the new executive director of UHS following the retirement of Dr. Alan Calhoun last June, according to a University of Massachusetts press release.

Corey received his medical degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine and has more than 27 years of clinical experience, including recent work as a hospitalist at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, according to the UHS website.

“Honestly, I love being a doctor,” Corey, who has been with UHS since 2010, said. “It’s stimulating, there’s always a challenge. There’s one puzzle per patient, or more, that you get to solve.”

Along with his years in clinical settings, Corey added that his time already spent on the UHS staff has prepared him for the role of executive director, a role that will have Corey acting as medical director and will supervise all organization of the Health Services, according to the release.

“In being here for the past three years, what I have done is learned the needs of the institution,” Corey said, adding that he is anticipating his work as executive director with the hope of making UHS a more valued campus resource.

“I’m looking forward to stabilizing and growing the health services,” he said. “My hope here is that we can really solidify the belief across campus that we need to be here, that we can produce a good product for the students and improve what we are giving you.”

Before being appointed to his new position, Corey said that he predominately worked in the walk-in clinic at UHS, where students can show up without an appointment and wait to receive medical treatment.

“I’ve seen what students need in the way of health care,” he added, referencing the firsthand experiences he has had with students visiting the clinic.

One of his goals as director, Corey said, is to maintain the services already provided to students who may need them. These include on-site optometry, laboratories, X-Rays and extended service hours.

“Those are services we feel that students really want and need. Part of my job is to justify and maintain those services, which I am intending to do,” he said.

In the past, Corey also mentioned that there has been concern that UHS may be in danger of losing some currently offered services. These times of uncertainty, he said, have prepared him for his new role.

“I’m aware of the political vulnerability that we have here and I’m hoping to translate that into a victory for us where we are able to continue to offer the services that you need,” he said.

As well as maintaining the services UHS already provides, Corey said there are a variety of programs he hopes to make available for UMass students at the clinic in the near future.

“What I’m going to try to accomplish at UHS is to help the clinic to run more smoothly and, hopefully, more efficiently,” he said.

One of the ways he hopes to do that is to hire more doctors and nurse practitioners so more students can get increased medical attention without having to wait for unnecessarily long periods of time.

Corey also added that he would like to invent more ways for students to meet personally with doctors. According to Corey, students can see a physician by arranging an appointment for the future, making a same-day appointment or taking advantage of the walk-in clinic. Corey said he wants to improve the latter two.

“We need to have more same-day appointments and we need to have more ability to see students as they walk in, in a way that’s more timely,” he said. “So one of my jobs is to make that happen — to hire the right people, to organize the situation, so that we get better results that way.”

Corey also said that hopes a woman’s clinic will be added to UHS by the spring. “There seems to be a demand and interest in that, so we are making plans for that and hiring people,” he said.

But the overall goal he wishes to accomplish, he said, was to make sure students get exactly what they need when it comes to the health services provided at UMass.

“What we need to do is translate your health fee into extra value so you are really getting your money’s worth from us,” he said. “Really, my job is to make that happen.”

Florida pediatrician Dr. Bruce Kraut was originally appointed director, but he could not assume the position due to “personal reasons,” the release said.

Jaclyn Bryson can be reached at [email protected].