Administration should consider students’ needs first.
This college has been without a health clinic since closing the previous clinic in 2011.
Hopefully, that is about to change.
The college president and other administrators are in the planning stages of bringing a clinic to this campus in the nursing complex.
Administration is putting together a survey to assess what students want.
Administrators, please create this clinic with students’ needs at the center.
A clinic has great potential to serve the students of this college, but the last thing students need is the burden of another fee.
Find a way to work with the budget you have and keep the clinic services free or affordable.
Considering the high cost of emergency medical services, an on-campus, minor emergency response service could provide quick and affordable relief to a student in distress.
The thought of a high ambulance bill may otherwise keep students from seeking the help they need.
Students often struggle to balance school, work, family and self.
Unfortunately, self-care can be all-too-easily shoved to the bottom of the priority list.
An on-campus clinic could provide quick and convenient access to over-the-counter medication, vaccinations and first aid.
A nurse practitioner would be a significant improvement from the former clinic.
Nurse practitioners can not only write physician referrals, but also prescribe medication and diagnose minor conditions.
Nursing and medical assisting students could help their community while gaining valuable, hands-on experience in their field by working shifts at the clinic, similar to the early childhood studies students working at the child care center.
It is important, in these early days of planning, that the administration not only effectively surveys the student population, but also listens and seriously considers what students have to say.