I have used student health all of my years at WVU. I am currently a graduate student and so have used it for 6 years and have been pretty satisfed.

Personally, I think the location is fine. It is easy to get x-rays and access other medical facilities when you are already in the hospital, so no need to travel to another facility, which is great when you are sick or in pain.

Extended hours would be nice, but at what cost to quality of care? Perhaps, more physicians would allow for extended hours and better quality of care. I don’t know what the doctor to student ratio is, but I would imagine that if one were to consider the entire student body, then that ratio is pretty large.

No physician’s office is perfect. My family has a private physician that can’t always do walk-ins and sometimes, a 30 minute appointment takes 60 minutes, because the person before you arrived a little bit late and took more time. However, I would not want to sacrifice quality of care for that individual just because my schedule is tight. That isn’t fair, not for me, for the patient before me, or for the physician.

I have been fairly satisfied with student health. Yes, I have issues with the fact that they miss something sometimes, or they misdiagnose, but that happens in every doctor’s office I have been to, especially when the doctor is rushed and trying to keep on a tight schedule (when some patients are late) and s/he doesn’t have your entire medical history in front of them, or if the real problem has not yet made itself completely apparent.

Perhaps, more walk-in availability and extended hours would be beneficial to the schedules of all students, but it should be realized that walk-ins require a longer wait and an extended schedule requires more working hours out of the physician, or more physicians.

I am fairly satisfied with student health, but, I realize there is always room for improvement. One must remember that, while there are benefits, there is always a cost for improvement.

When I was a traditional student many years ago, my problems with student health services were the following: too far away for students who lived downtown/off campus and being misdiagnosed… I have not used the facilities in a long time (very part time non-traditional student) but I still think there needs to be a location for downtown students… It was always a hassle to take the PRT and try to figure out where student health was when I wasn’t feeling well. It would’ve been nice to just walk to the downtown campus and get a quick prescription or doctors note for a minor ailment…

It needs to be open on the weekends!!! I can’t believe it isn’t…if that is the only option for students to receive health care (either they dont’ have insurance, a car, or the knowledge of which doctor to visit in this town-away-from home) then it must certainly be open on the weekends. I work after class all week…makin the student health no option for me unless I skip class.

other than the timing I think student health has been very helpful since I have been in Morgantown…3 years now. I just wish the hours were more student friendly.

Currently, I am using student health services (Mental health) about one and half semester. The services by doctor were pretty good but duration for getting appointment was really bad. Sometimes you won?t get an appointment for about month. So I would like request for more physicians in mental health so everybody gets a services on time which is very crucial for patient who concern with mental health problems like stress, anxiety, depression, drugs related problems or physical abuses. It has to be cleared as soon as possible coz sometimes not getting proper treatment on time student may loose their important semester and so on career sometimes.

Today due to high competition, pretty much all students facing stress and insomnia problems at some what point of their study period. I would like to recommend massage therapy center at Recreational-center where every student take an advantage of it at very affordable price. I got this idea from some universities who provided these facilities already at their campuses. I hope our university will start soon that kind of services with better way. Let?s go mountaineers!

I agree with most of these comments. I am happy with the staff and physicians there. They are friendly and qualified. However, here some points to think about: 1) Location. A good point is that if you live Downtown, you don’t always feel like taking the PRT when you are sick. Perhaps a smaller or more “urgent care” center would be good closer to the heart of the campus. 2) Hours. I agree that the “business hours” approach is not efficient. College students operate on various schedules. Many students work in the evenings, and instances don’t work on timed schedules. For example, my brother recently dislocated his shoulder at 6:00 on Friday. We had no option, but to go to the WVU Urgent Care (not affiliated with SHS). Luckily, we both have insurance, but others are not so lucky. The $20 co-pay isn?t too bad, but still steeper than the $10 at SHS.
The weekend hours would be great. It?s very difficult to schedule good times during the school week.

3) Scheduling. As someone just mentioned, the Mental Health Services only let you book an appointment 4-5 weeks in advance. For cases of anxiety/depression/etc., this can be very problematic. Perhaps more physicians could alleviate this. 4) Co-pay system. I am very frustrated with the system for picking up monthly prescriptions. For my medicine, since it is a ?controlled substance,? I usually have to get a one-month subscription and pick up my refill note from the main office. However, under the current system, I am required to pay the same $10 co-pay for this as receiving a comprehensive appointment from the physician. This extra $10 adds up when you think of $15+ of one type of medicine. Why should I pay just to pick up a note saying I can get a prescription filled when it?s not my fault that the government is so strict on the regulations? Some explanations would be nice. Does anyone else have any comments about this? Thanks for listening. I appreciate the University?s being concerned with these issues.

I think it is absurd how the topic of healthy food never comes up when addressing the issues of health care. It seems to me that prevention should be one of the most important health care programs. Sure it is important that people can get help when they are already sick, but what about trying to reduce the numbers of sick people in the first place. As I try to eat healthy throughout the day I find it difficult to get a healthy meal as Burger King, Sabbarro, Quizno’s,, etc are the only places to eat on campus. There needs to be more choices for people who are health conscious and want to focus on prevention rather than suppression. There should be more information too for people about trying to live healthy. The WVU organic farm could also be a part in this as they could supply fresh vegetables for a healthy on campus cafeteria or eatery which supplies students with local and fresh food. This would also get the organic farm more recognition as most students do not even know that it exists. This could also bring more of a togetherness feel to the school as the farm produces food for the students and the students stay healthy. Just some thoughts.

SHC should first work on professionalism. Although the office needs to be expanded, funded, etc., these are all issues that will take significant time and money to correct. An immediate issue that I have noticed is that the staff at SHC is consistently unprofessional. I have been asked to wait while a staff member took a personal call in which she laughed with a friend over a recent experience with alcohol. I have also had frustrating converstations over the phone with individuals who were confused about SHCs policies (and even hours). And most outrageous, I have overheard personal information being discuss about other patients, while in the office. For bottom to top, SHC is a complete mess and in need of a complete overhaul. In addition, this is the first time I have seen a venue in which individuals can issue complaints about HSC. An informal comment process may help.

i had some kind of problem with my elbow and it was swelling up like crazy outta nowhere. they seemed to have diagnosed me right and its fine now.

Im in the library now and my back is killing me cause ive been slaving on this paper for well over 17 hours in the last 3 days.

I was thinking we could get some massage therapists to work in the library and work on students backs that are at the computers or studying.

If you think about it, the cost would be worth it. You could encourage students to come to the library and study/ do more work. this would pull our school from the number one position on princeton review for least hours studied….....

just a thought

I totally agree with Will’s comment. I think greater availability of healthful, locally grown food is important. Not only that, but students need to make friends with healthier food and habits- for example, carrying water around to drink. I think the simpler the approach, the better. People will never change if you push things on them.

I agree with Will on the necessity for healthy food on campus. It is definitely hard to find a place with nutritious options. I bring my own lunch with me everyday, because I know I won’t be able to find decent food. The Mountainlair should be the first place that the university should push for a healthy food venue.

I also think that information about leading a healthy lifestyle should be available for college students. For example, many college students may not know why certain foods are more beneficial to their bodies than others. As I suggested at the forum, a website (such as the wellness.wvu.edu) or the DA should have information readily available to students. If the website is updated and includes for information for students, it should then be advertised, because many students do not know that this website exists. In addition to a website and the DA, the new TV information system throughout campus could include a slide dedicated to health tips (i.e. health tip of the day).

Another issue that I find very important is non-motorized transportation. Morgantown needs to be made a more pedestrian friendly city. This means that we need address issues like sidewalks and street lighting. Maybe we could start an advertisement campaign to get people walking too. I know that when I talk to students they don’t realize that walking can often get you to places faster or they don’t think they are capable of walking a mile.

As president, I feel you should try to focus on preventative aspects of health. This is where West Virginia as a state has failed. We need to focus on physical activity and nutrition, rather than waiting until more people are diagnosed with diabetes or heart disease. As the state’s flagship institution, we should start programs and be an example for the rest of the state. In the long run this will save our state tons of money and help keep our state’s citizens healthy.

Lastly, I would like to thank you for holding the student health forum. I appreciate that you seek and value students’ ideas.

The comments on unprofessionalism were something that I believe many students could relate to. I have overheard a doctor comment that a student could wait longer because they asked the see a physician. I have had a friend comment on inaapropriate and uncomfortable comments from a doctor during an exam. In addition, it seems that they will prescribe Adderall to pretty much any student who claims to have trouble concentrating. The office does not appear to be a positive and welcoming atmosphere for students. I had tests ran two years ago and nobody contacted me with the results. I will say that the physician assistants that have seen me seemed more organized and thourough with their examination as well as more willing to care for me than some of the doctors I have seen.

Longer hours may help a few students, but I honestly feel that the university will loose money with longer hours because hardly anyone will come in. This could result in anothe tuition increase that I’m sure most students would not be happy with.

This comment is not directly related the Student Health Services, however it does pertain to student wellness and fitness. There is an enormous need for better intermural fields. Improved or new fields would encourage more people to play intermural and club sports. The current fields are in terrible condition. They barely have any grass, they are completely torn up from cleats, they flood easily, and pose serious danger to students. I personally have fallen and have twisted me ankles several times because of the fields. I know I am not alone. Having discussed the issue with many club and intermural team members, teams have tried to get aroud the fields and use other facilities. However, this is nearly impossible because of cost and liability issues. Many other schools that are not as large as WVU provide their students with great intermural playing facilities.
WVU needs to jump on the bandwagon and care more about students that play sports besides the football and basketball teams.

I’ve been to the student health clinic a couple of times since I’ve been a student here and have had no problems. However, I do have a complaint about the hours. I got sick this weekend and had no student health option, I had to go to WVU Urgent Care where they did a wonderful job, but it cost me $20 more dollars than it would have at the student health center. I’m just as poor as every other student here and saving $20 would be nice.

I understand more hours requires more staff, but sickness can happen anytime and many students do not have money or the insurance (which is 10X worse than losing $20) to go elsewhere.