With the cold and flu season coming to a close many Clarke students are sharing their frustrations with health services. Students express their gratitude for the services provided but feel as if they are lacking, as they cannot prescribe medication and often cannot diagnose an illness. Additionally, if a student is ill and wants an excused absence from class, they must go to health services and get an official note from them in order to not be marked as unexcused. But what about students who are too sick to make it to health services? What should they do?
One student who wishes to remain anonymous shared their frustration with a recent experience with health services. “They expect you to come in and get checked out to get excused from class, and I understand that they do this because people may lie about being sick, but if someone is throwing up and has a fever, they shouldn’t have to come in to get excused.” The student was sick with an illness causing them to vomit and have a high fever, unable to get out of bed. Students who live off-campus are also required to come in, but in the case of the flu or strep many times students are often unable to leave their beds, posing questions on why students can’t remain in their dorms or at home when they are very ill. Health services director, Hope Hess says that students who are too sick to come in should “call or email. If they are too sick to visit health services, they need to be seen by a medical provider”. In addition, an email from last semester about health services comments on student absences saying that “Avoiding unnecessary absences will help an individual succeed in school and beyond — strong attendance leads to lifelong success and helps an individual feel better about school/work and themselves!”
Basic services which are provided include ill/medical triage evaluations, strep tests, TB skin testing, basic first aid, over the counter medications as needed, and community resources. In addition, health services cannot diagnose or prescribe students with medications. “We cannot diagnose a disease this is not within our scope of practice. We can conduct a strep test; it is a $5.00 fee charged to a student’s account. If the test is positive, a student will require an acute or urgent care visit to obtain medication” Hess said. If a student needs a prescription for any sort of strep or other illness, they “should speak with their primary medical provider or be seen at an acute or urgent care setting for new onset of illnesses or medical issues that need a prescription” Hess said.
Students who don’t have a car must find someone to take them to urgent care and then the pharmacy. “As a student who didn’t have a car last year, when I got a sinus infection, I went to health services, but they couldn’t give me any medication. So, I had to have a friend take time out of her day to drive me to an urgent care, wait there, get another exam (after health services already gave me one), and go to the pharmacy. I could have just skipped health services altogether. Plus, my insurance doesn’t work out here, so it would be nice if health services could prescribe me with something” the student said. This is a common theme among students, they don’t want to leave Clarke to be seen but often must be due to the lack of illnesses they can diagnose. Hess comments on this issue saying that students may be eligible delivery from local pharmacies including: Hy-Vee, Hartig Drug, Walgreens, Mercy-One, Walmart, or Sam’s Club. Students who don’t have transportation “may rely on coaches and friends as great resources or a taxi or Uber” Hess explained.
When students are severely ill and need to go to an urgent care or pharmacy, they are often left without guidance on what places take their insurance or which urgent care will provide them with the best care. When going on the health services website there is no mention of what services can be done, and the link to Hospitals and Pharmacies in the area is invalid. “I am not from Dubuque, so I had no clue where to go in the area to be seen. And their website was hard to navigate and there was no information on it on where to go” another student said. Not to mention, they are only open during school hours on the weekdays and closed nights and weekends. This poses a problem for students who have an 8am on Mondays and are ill or those who don’t know if they should go to practice or class because they cannot be seen by health services. To combat this “students must see their own medical provider, acute/urgent cares, or local hospitals in the event of an emergency” Hess said.
Students are asking for some sort of solution. They want a way to be excused from class even if they cannot get out of bed to go to health services and want more guidance when they do visit the office. Hess comments on the future of health services saying, “Our dream is to expand services, have medical personal that function in the capacity of a clinic type of setting. Clarke University continues to search for funding and grant opportunities. We are very fortunate that our campus is located in Dubuque, Iowa where there are many options available for health care”. In addition, there are resources such as personal hygiene products - stocked by Hess in honor of her mother-in-law passing away tragically from a car accident - and free counseling services. Although Hess is limited in the services she can provide, she will always attempt to provide the fullest care she can for students in need.
A final comment from health services says that “Health Services is here to help. All our student’s health and well-being are important us. No matter the issue medical health, brain health, or anything at all we are here for all of you. We enjoy students stopping by to say hello. We love getting to know our student population!”
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