by Nick Escalada and Jasmin Shirazian
Throughout the school year and in the summer, many Cal Poly Humboldt students rely on the Cal Poly Humboldt Student Health and Wellbeing Services (SHWS) as their only source of medical assistance. Already limited services are worsened in the summer when staff is reduced, leaving students in urgent situations without many solutions.
For students without reliable transportation, seeking help off-campus can be an obstacle. The Student Health Center’s (SHC) accommodations fell short for sophomore archeology major Nick Howell, who injured his rotator cuff while working on-campus this past summer. Even as a student throughout the academic year, Howell was not able to receive any emergency care due to not being enrolled in summer classes.
“I was working eight hours on campus for this position. I wasn’t in a class, but I was right there. I was in Nelson Hall, 10 feet away from the Health Center, that had these big signs,” Howell said. “I spent about 40 bucks on an Uber back-and-forth to go to Redwood Urgent Care, and then it was a $50 charge to [be seen]. At the end of the day, it’s nearly 100 bucks that could be free if I was allowed to be seen.”
The Student Health Center acts as the outpatient medical facility located on the university campus. There are two sides to the medical services provided by the SHC: one for scheduled care and one for acute — sudden — conditions, as Executive Director of Student Health & Wellbeing Service Jennifer Sanford explained. Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) are also available to students during the school year, though it is a different sector of the Student Health and Wellbeing Services. During the summer, however, both medical and mental health services are reduced for returning and summer students alike.
Even during the school year, the SHC is limited in its ability to treat all students’ needs, according to Sanford. While the center has an X-ray lab, other, more severe conditions must be referred to Mad River Community Hospital or other urgent care centers in the surrounding area. Only 14 medical professionals, ranging from physicians to medical assistants as listed on the SHWS website, worked at the center this past semester. Come summer, staff numbers are even lower, thus the already limited resources are unavailable, such as X-rays.
“We see a lot of sprained ankles, broken bones, upper respiratory infections, urinary tract infections, [gastrointestinal] stuff, rashes, issues with ears,” Sanford said. “It’s all kinds of stuff on the acute side. On the scheduled side, we do a lot of mental health, reproductive health care. What we would recommend [is that] students keep a primary doctor for things like diabetes or other chronic, ongoing conditions that should continue to be managed by their primary doctor.”
Senior criminology major Lanna Moor had been experiencing flu-like symptoms when the Student Health Center deferred her to off-campus resources. She said this made her feel dismissed and resulted in her paying out-of-pocket for a doctor’s visit and medication at Redwood Urgent Care in Eureka.
“I expected them to run a test, maybe a [COVID-19] or flu test, or anything really. Instead they handed me a sheet of paper saying that I should go buy some ibuprofen,” Moor said. “My expectation was to get something that I didn’t already know. I know that I can just go buy ibuprofen from the store. So, I was expecting maybe a little more help and resources and addressing why I was sick so that I could get back to class. Definitely made me feel like I was incompetent.”
Issues with Student Health and Wellbeing Services extend past the Health Center and physical ailments. Encounters at CAPS have left patients unsatisfied or unserviced, like senior critical race & gender studies major Rubyana Ashman, who has endured weeks and even months-long periods without therapy due to the program’s semesterly eight-session limit.
“It’s just a prevalent thing in our generation. I feel like most people our age have mental health issues or physical health issues that they need taken care of,” Ashman said. “I feel like [an improvement could be] making it easier for people to go more often without it being taxed, like having a limit on how many times someone can go to the Health Center.”
An alternative mental health resource offered by the university is TimelyCare, which is offered over the summer to students enrolled throughout the school year. Students like senior psychology major Mia Fikes, however, would not recommend this outlet to students unless absolutely necessary.
“TimelyCare often felt like gambling with your mental health,” Fikes said. “You would either receive a friendly voice of reason to help you see your problems in a positive light or someone audibly dismissive who made things worse. Chances were about 50/50.”
Sanford is hopeful, however, that as more students come to the university and with the new Housing, Dining and Health Building set to rehome SHWS, issues with the Student Health Center will improve.
“I think having space will allow us to broaden our reach and actually offer more services,” Sanford said. “Because right now, we’re just out of space and we’re spread out in three locations. Eventually, when we have our new building, all of that will come together. I think as the student population increases, we will really listen to students about what services we don’t have that they might like.”
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