After several years without one, ACPHS will re-open a Student Health Center next semester.
The new health center will be located at two sites, including one right on campus, and be operated solely by ACPHS, rather than in collaboration with local partners, as in the past. Services for minor illnesses and injuries will be free of charge. A $150 health and wellness fee will cover the cost of running the center for the semester.
The decision to re-open the health center came about following consistent input from students, according to Vice President of Student Affairs John Felio.
One of those students was Sophia Braithwaite (pictured above at HAB 209, one of the health center sites being renovated). As a resident assistant, she felt uneasy when students living in the dorms asked her where to go for minor medical problems. With no on-campus health center, Braithwaite recommended a local urgent care center. But that never felt right, especially at a college like ACPHS, the third-year public health student said.
Braithwaite’s point was well-received, Felio said.
“ACPHS was certainly an outlier among educational institutions, in not offering health services,” he said.
Dominick Lomomaco, president of the Student Government Association, said many students as well as their families consistently noted that the campus lacked a health center. The situation became acute when a nearby urgent care center closed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. Serious problems were not the issue, with Albany Medical Center Hospital nearby.
“It’s the colds, the skin infections,” he said.
At first blush, an urgent care center might seem like a reasonable option. But getting to one requires a car, which not every student has, Braithwaite noted. And urgent care services sometimes come with a hefty copayment. Out-of-pocket costs run on average from $50 to $150 per visit, depending on the malady, according to an October article in Forbes Advisor. Another issue is the amount of time spent in an urgent care waiting room, Lomonaco said, which can cause people not to seek treatment for fear of missing important academic work.
Until 2019, ACPHS had a student health center in collaboration with neighbors Albany Medical College and Albany Law School. Albany Medical Center provided the health care services and required reimbursement through students’ health insurance. Over time, however, they accepted fewer and fewer health insurance plans, which became a problem, especially for students from out of town, whose insurance providers were not based in the Capital Region. As for students from the Capital Region, they often preferred to visit their long-established medical providers rather than use the health center.
Under that structure, many students did not get the full benefit of the Student Health Center, said Packy McGraw, ACPHS’ vice president of administrative operations. In fact, due to the health insurance situation, students often turned to nearby urgent care centers even when the health center was open, resulting in additional out-of-pocket expenses for them.
When Braithwaite learned this was why the health center had closed, it made sense to her, she said. But she still thought ACPHS should find another way to make services available on campus.
As a member of the Student Experience Advisory Committee, she has brought the issue to Felio as well as the ACPHS Board of Trustees for the last two years. Last spring, she did some research for her Persuasion and Social Influence class. In a survey of 28 students, she found that nearly 80% of them assumed there was an on-campus health center when they had applied. And almost 90% said they were likely to use one if it were here. In addition, Braithwaite argued, an on-campus health center would provide opportunities for students to get clinical experience.
Felio, who has been at ACPHS since Fall 2020, supported the idea.
“There have been countless occasions where students have complained of illness. It has never sat well to only provide a list of local urgent care providers and suggest an Uber if a student did not have their own vehicle,” he said.
The SGA strongly supported the idea, Lomonaco said, but was initially worried about the $180-per-semester student fee proposed to support it. Leaders brought their concerns to Felio, who was able to find efficiencies to cut the cost to $150 for the semester.
The Board of Trustees was happy to learn the center would open next month and supported the fee structure, Felio said.
“I’m very happy with the outcome and the progress we were able to make,” Lomonaco said.
Also pleased, Braithwaite said she hopes to get some experience working with patients there.
Student Health Center Facts
Opening: January 2023
Locations and Hours:
- HAB 209 – Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the academic year
- The Collaboratory, 200 South Pearl Street Albany – Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. year-round
Fees:
- $150-per-semester fee
- Services free of charge (no co-pay)
Services provided:
- Treatment for minor illnesses (such as colds, ear pain, bug bites, cuts, skin rash, strep throat, UTIs, etc.)
- Treatment for minor injuries
- Physical exams
- Routine health screenings
- COVID-19 testing
- Immunizations, vaccines, boosters and shots
- Tuberculosis testing
- Student wellness programs
- Health education
- Women’s reproductive healthcare