Health and Wellness Clinic provides free services
Feeling under the weather? If you have had a recent injury, want questions answered about allergies, illnesses, or contraception, or are past due on vaccinations, UWT’s Student Health Services is able to help. Staffed and overseen by Franciscan Medical Group, the clinic provides medical care through a licensed practical nurse and an advanced registered nurse practitioner. The operation is funded by student fees, so many of the available diagnosis and treatment options are free to students.
SHS receptionist Jessica De Laguna provided more insight to services available. While not a primary care provider, the clinic, located at 1742 Market Street, can provide treatment for minor illnesses and injuries by appointment only.
“We are not an urgent care or ER,” De Laguna explains, “but students can always call and talk to one of the nurses to see if it’s something we can treat.”
Office visits and in-house lab testing are of no cost, and certain shots, such as the whooping cough, pneumococcal, and influenza vaccines are also free of charge. Other ones, including Hepatitis B and C, MMR, HPV, and Meningococcal are available but do come with a price.
That’s not all. The clinic also provides mental evaluations, STD screenings, and annual exams. Family planning consultations, vision and hearing screenings, and basic diagnostic testing are also offered to students in need, as well as substance abuse discussions and health maintenance training. Be sure to call ahead to schedule one of these services. Nothing is confirmed yet, but efforts to bring in a psychiatrist to add to SHS’s facilities are in the works.
De Laguna encourages students to spread the word that the clinic is available, because “so many students don’t really know about” the offered help. “We’ve had close to 700 patients, and hope to have more.” The second year anniversary of the SHS clinic passed last Monday, and its goal is to aid as many students as its capabilities allow, so stop by if you are ever in need.
