As Winter Term progresses, several flus and colds will undoubtedly circulate around our small campus. During this season, as in all seasons, students need access to quality primary care on campus. We at The Lawrentian feel that the university’s health services could be better suited to students’ needs.
The health center’s policies don’t always fit a student’s lifestyle or needs. For example, a student can only see a doctor from 8:00 to 8:45 a.m., Monday through Friday. This short window of time limits the number of who students who can visit a doctor during the week. Students are also on their own if they need any health care over the weekend. There is no on-campus service for ailments or injuries after 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
Luckily, there are numerous off-campus primary care clinics that students have access to, even after hours — yet few students actually know about them. These resources, such as Primary Care Associates and Nurse Direct, are advertised on the Health Services Website. Residence Life Advisors are given this information on a handy laminated card. Why not distribute all this health information on a card to every student? When experiencing a health issue on the weekend, an informational card might prove a practical solution, rather than forcing students to manually search for it on the Internet. In addition, Campus Security offers rides to these clinics and hospitals in priority circumstances.
We at The Lawrentian encourage the Health Services department to better advertise resources available to students and to make their hours of operation more compatible with a student’s lifestyle.