From flu shots to allergies, University Health Services can treat a wide range of illnesses students might experience.
Located in the Student Services Building in the northern section of campus, UHS offers general medical care along with services such as sports medicine, women’s health, immunizations, allergy shots and nutrition services.
Sherry Bell, interim communications manager for UHS and the Counseling and Mental Health Center, said all students can use UHS.
“We’re a really big primary care facility,” Bell said. “We’re just like your family doctor, but we do more things than your family doctor. Anything you would go in for or anything your parents go in for, that’s what we do.”
Bell said students do not need insurance to use UHS, but they encourage students who use their services to have health insurance. They accept almost all types of insurance, but UHS offers discounted rates and charges for students who are uninsured or who have insurance UHS does not accept, Bell said.
Students do not have to pay the day they receive healthcare, since UHS can post their charges on the student’s What I Owe page.
According to the UHS impact statement, 47% of students visited UHS during the 2017-18 academic year. Bell said some students might choose not to use UHS because they did not get sick or they visited a different provider.
Chemical engineering sophomore Benjamin Tollett said he did not visit UHS when he was sick because the process seemed daunting.
“I wish I went just to make sure it wasn’t anything,” Tollett said. “I was lucky, and it was just a cold. But I’m an adult now, and I have to figure out these things on my own.”
Colds and allergies are the top reasons students visit UHS, along with concussions, contraception, STI screening and immunizations, according to the impact statement. UHS does not provide emergency room care, Bell said.
“A doctor’s office isn’t an emergency room,” Bell said. “We do have urgent care for when the student has something that needs to be evaluated before our next available appointment. If a student falls off a scooter and think they broke their ankle, we can bring them into urgent care.”
UHS is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. If a non-urgent health issue occurs when UHS is closed, there is a 24-hour nurse advice line that students can call.
“It’s our goal for everybody on campus to know about these services so they know they can use them,” Bell said. “We know about the more stressful times … and we can give our nurses a heads up. We’re very connected with the pulse of campus life, and it makes us unique.”
Chemical engineering sophomore Jacob Sass said he visited UHS after experiencing a fever and a cough. He said he recommends it to everyone on campus.
“When I went, they got to me really quickly and made sure I was taken care of,” Sass said. “If you have to go to a doctor, UHS is is the best place to go. It’s on campus, and it’s convenient.”
