February 28, 2017
Scribe Staff
At the Wellness Center, you can get an appointment by calling that same day, if you’re lucky, for only $15.
At Colorado Springs Health Partners, that same copay that drives worry in our minds as we eye the waiting room area can cost upwards of $30-$50 depending on what you’re there for.
As students, we’re afforded many privileges. But it is inexpensive healthcare via our Health and Wellness Center that is the most valuable. Each year, we pay $60 for the Wellness Center fee as part of our tuition.
The medical doctor and nurse practitioners that we have are here to help us with our needs, whether that be getting over the common cold or getting a prescription for birth control.
Several of the services offered include physicals, wellness coaching, flu shots, vaccinations and allergy injections.
As the weather continues to go from sunshine to snow in the same day, it’s important to keep up with taking care of ourselves as students, especially as midterms start to creep up.
Taking advantage of these services in the four (or, possibly, five to six) years that we’re here is especially important. When we reach the real world of high insurance premiums and nasty $50 copays, we’ll miss the simplicity of paying for our healthcare with just what it would cost to buy a meal at Chipotle.
This goes for all amenities at UCCS, but taking care of ourselves with such a close resource will ultimately help us as we near our graduation dates.
Recently an email was sent out to students as a reminder to make sure we take care of ourselves, and that students should stay home if sick.
It can be tough to consider staying home with strict attendance policies or the thought of making up homework, but in the end it’s better to take a day or two to concentrate on boosting our immune system and health rather than fighting through being sick and attempting to do well on our assignments.
We not only need to be considerate of our own health, but other students. None of us wants to go to class to be coughed or sneezed on and end up having to miss school, because one person didn’t think about being contagious.
According to the Center for Disease Control, some tips on how to prevent spreading a cold include staying home while sick, avoiding close contact with others, consistent hand washing and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces.
We can’t always control when we catch a cold or strep throat, but we can take the steps to take care of ourselves, even if it means missing class for one week.
Hopefully our teachers will understand.