The fact that the Health Center exists is common knowledge among students; after all students pay an extra $17 on top of the $26 per unit fee.
Besides the fees, not much is really known about the Health Center unless you take the initiative yourself to go looking for the information on what’s included.
The center offers a host of free and low-cost services for students, as advertised on the Web site and the fliers around campus.
For example, for just $15 students can receive their flu shots against the seasonal flu; shipments of the H1N1 “swine flu” vaccine are expected any day. Whether it’s free or not is still unclear.
STD tests are available every Tuesday, from 1-4 p.m., while HIV testing is offered the last Tuesday of each month. Besides this, the clinic also offers chiropractor services, psychological services, workshops to manage anxiety and anger and birth control pills.
While all of this is great and beneficial for students, it’s not widely advertised. Unless a student goes into the clinic, or goes to the Web site, they may never come across this information.
EC sends no e-mails about the various services offered in the clinic and the fliers are few on campus. The Health Center is also in an inconvenient location next to the pool,
There is little waiting and few costs, the Health Center is a place for uninsured students to turn to but, only during the fall and spring semesters. If students need medical attention during the winter or summer sessions, they are left to deal with long lines and high costs in emergency rooms or walk-in clinics.
A great resource for students is being wasted due to a lack of public exposure and unclear terms. Many students are unaware of the location of the Health Center, much less what services are offered.
Moving the Center closer to the center of campus can greatly increase the visibility of the Center and the services it offers. Sending e-mails to students’ MyECC accounts is another solution.
Information given over the phone should match the information provided on the Web site or vise-versa. Also making the information on the Web site more detailed such as giving an estimate of costs could do a world of good for students. After all, no one wants to go into an appointment thinking the service is free or that it’s at a low-cost, only to find out they have to not only pay, but pay more than expected.
If the school is open for winter and summer sessions, then the Health Center should be open as well.
It’s great that we have a Health Center, but what’s the point if it’s not open all year with incorrect information along with its inconvenient location?