Health and Wellness Center provides health care for students
The College of Eastern Utah Student Health and Wellness Center provides a wide variety of services. Their services include brief, limited, and extended office visits, allergy injections, blood pressure/weight check, blood sugar/glucose scan, dressings, ear irrigation, elastic wrap, emergency contraceptive pills (morning after pill), flu shots, health education and medication samples (when available).
This archived article was written by: Andrew Stilson
The College of Eastern Utah Student Health and Wellness Center provides a wide variety of services. Their services include brief, limited, and extended office visits, allergy injections, blood pressure/weight check, blood sugar/glucose scan, dressings, ear irrigation, elastic wrap, emergency contraceptive pills (morning after pill), flu shots, health education and medication samples (when available).
Former counselor/director at CEU’s Health and Wellness Center Terry Holbrook, relocated to Washington State. “We all wish him the best,” says Tammy Bracken, interim director. Bracken, a physician’s assistant, attended the University of Utah, PA program. She has worked locally for many years in health care.
Some other services that are provided are medical visits, counseling services, nurse visit, physical exams, pregnancy tests, rape crisis intervention & counseling, TB tests and urine analysis.
The Student Health and Wellness Center’s hours are: Monday and Wednesday from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.. They are closed Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The staff at the Student Health and Wellness Center include: Corina Ware, front office manager in charge of insurance, billing, and cost comparisons. Ware is available at the center Monday 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Wednesday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Bracken covers services and all clinical care. Bracken is available Tuesday 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Thursday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.. Kate Alleman, nurse, is in charge of services when Bracken is not in the office, and is also in charge of campus education. Alleman’s hours are: Monday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Tuesday 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., Wednesday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and Thursday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
According to Bracken, the clinic is a student-medical clinic. They serve the faculty and students as well as community members. They don’t advertise, it is word of mouth. Essentially, they offer a bridge for people. They can see people with insurance, but for people without insurance, they offer very affordable services. There is a great deal of people who are part of the working poor, they don’t make enough money to have insurance, or just got off their parent’s insurance. That’s one service they provide, they call it a bridge. They try to fill in the health care gaps as they see them.
“For a lot of students this is the first time they really have been living by themselves independently. They don’t have any real experience navigating in a complex health care system and so we can help them and offer them direction in referring them to another health care system in the area,” said Bracken.
We know the health care system in the area, we know what you need to do. Sometimes we just need to let students know what is a big deal and what is a little deal. What can wait and what can’t wait, she added.
The clinic is a non-profit organization. They have to sustain their own expenses. They can’t lose money, but their goal is to not make a lot of money. They have to make enough money to take care of expenses. They don’t aim for any more than that. That is why they offer affordable services.
The clinic staff are bound by Hippa Confidentiality Laws. In other words what is heard and said at the clinic, stays at the clinic. No exceptions to the rules.
Some services include and are based on a patient’s ability to pay and are subsidized by Title X money. The services for men include, STI-Chlamydia or gonorrhea (Gen Probe), and testicular exams. The services for women include, birth control, STI-Chlamydia or gonorrhea (Gen Probe), also pelvic exams, pap smears, and breast exams.
They offer Planned Parenthood services. They are not Planned Parenthood, but offer limited plan services. They will see their patients and bill Planned Parenthood. They receive Title X money in order to stay within their budget.
The College of Eastern Utah Student Health and Wellness Center is located in the Old Student Activity Center, room # 118. Numerous signs in the SAC building point the direction to the Health and Wellness Center.
Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to utilize the Health and Wellness Center. Bracken, Alleman and Ware are here to serve you, so stop on in when you have the chance.
