Health Center strives to provide for students

“It’s been a good year,” Dawn Marsh, director of health services, said about the Health Center at Adrian College.

The Health Center is located in the basement of Caine Student Center and is open Monday through Friday. From 9 to 11 a.m., their walk-in clinic is available and from 1 to 4:30 p.m., is open for afternoon appointments.

“We are usually open until 5 p.m. on most days,” Marsh said.

She said that students can come in until closing, if they have any questions they would like to ask.

“There’s no fee to be seen at the health center,” Marsh said. “We’re not here to make a profit off of [students].”

However, according to Marsh, they do sometimes add a small fee to a student’s account for a prescription or lab testing.

Marsh worked as a part-time nurse at the Health Center last year, before becoming the director.

“On average, I’d say we see 25 to 30 students [a week],” Marsh said.

According to Marsh most of these students visit the health center because of common illnesses.

The health center offers various services to students, such as wellness checks, lab testing, medical assessments, pregnancy testing, physician referrals, staple removals, flu shots, referrals for STD testing, referrals to family planning clinics and they have condoms for sale.

“We offer some prescription drugs,” Marsh said. “[But] I have to deem it necessary.”

According to Marsh, everything at the Health Center has gone relatively smoothly all year except for a two week rough period during swine flu season.

“We were prepared,” Marsh said about the season. “Students did a good job at self isolation and keeping it contained.”

Freshman Diana Fisher said she has been to the Health Center six or seven times.

“I’m sick a lot,” Fisher said.

According to Fisher, she received antibiotics from the Health Center once, but most of the time they would offer her advice on how to get better.

“They usually just tell me how to fix it without drugs,” she said.

According to Fisher, having a Health Center near the students is a good idea.

“I think it’s nice to have somewhere close on campus to go,” she said.

For next year, Marsh said that the Health Center is looking to inform the students more about health care and prevention.

“We want to set goals of more education for next year,” she said.

Another change that will take place next year is that the H1N1 vaccine will be included in the seasonal flu shot.

According to Marsh, the health clinic is also trying to become a little greener and increase convenience for students. For instance, waivers for health insurance for the 2010/2011 academic year are now offered online.

“We hope to move towards other documents being electronic too,” Marsh said.

As the summer is coming closer, Marsh said she would encourage students to use sun block and to stay hydrated.

“Hydration is extremely important when you’re in extreme heat for long periods of time,” she said.

Marsh said she would also warn students to watch their alcohol consumption, because alcohol can dehydrate you more quickly.

Freshman David Trevisan works at the Health Center for his work study job. He said that his work is mostly secretarial, such as pulling files.

“I think it’s great that it’s on campus,” Trevisan said about the Health Center. “Dawn really takes care of the kids.”

According to Trevisan, when he was sick with strep throat, the Health Center helped him get better.

He said that generally it seems most students are satisfied with the services that the clinic offers.

“We’re not a full on hospital,” Trevisan said. “But we help with everyday needs.”

Tags: health, health center

This entry was posted on Monday, April 19th, 2010 at 3:18 pm and is filed under News, Top Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.