Student Health Reconstruction

To the Editors:

There are many positive aspects to Oberlin College’s Student Health Services such as the free care as well as the friendly staff. However, Student Health Service is only open on MWF from 9-4:30, TR 10-6, and Saturday from 10-1. While these seem like reasonable hours, it is almost impossible to get an appointment that fits into one’s schedule. Almost every time I have gone to Student Health I had to miss class or some other obligation, and I have been there approximately five times.
They should consider increasing their hours on the weekdays and the weekends--students do get sick on the weekends. If they do not want to increase their hours then they should hire more professional staff so there are more possible times that one could schedule an appointment.
Also, the quality of the care desperately needs to be improved. Most Oberlin College students I know have a Student Health story from hell. I personally went there once with a urinary tract infection and was diagnosed with a yeast infection. My friends have gone there with mononucleosis and been told that they didn’t need have enough of the symptoms to even warrant a mono test. I went their two weeks in a row with respiratory problems, and twice I was told that it was only a cold. Four days after my last visit I went to the ER, and the chest x-ray and found that I had mycoplasmic pneumonia. So basically, I was exceptionally ill for a month, but had it been properly diagnosed and treated I would have been better within a week.
Oberlin College claims to have emergency contraception. I see flyers for this morning-after pill quite frequently, but I have found that there is not always emergency contraception available. Try calling health services on a Monday and tell them that you had unprotected sex at 2:00 pm on Saturday. See if you can get an appointment within 72 hours of the intercourse so you can take the morning after pill. If they are booked till Tuesday at 2:00 then there is no way to get the morning after pill from Student Health Services.
My last complaint is that Student Health Services would not fund or give out resources for the Sexual Health Kits (condoms, a glove, a dental dam, and pamphlets of sexual information) which all the first years received. HIV educators had to use their entire budget along with money from Keep Co-op and SAST so the Health Kits would exist this year. This should not be happening, I feel that it is Students Health’s job to be educating students about safer sex and since the health kits do this they should be sponsored by Student Health.

–Danielle Gelfand
College junior