For the first time in almost two years, Student Health Services are set to offer some in-person medical services to New School students.
“A start date will be communicated to the university community in the coming weeks,” the department said in an email to The New School Free Press.
In-person services will include vaccinations, gynecological care, sexually transmitted infection screenings, throat cultures, electrocardiograms, ear, heart and lung exams and other lab work. In-person mental health services may also be offered in urgent scenarios.
Currently, the resources offered by Student Health Services are accessible via confidential Zoom sessions and over email.
“The staff is going to be working really hard in early February to get the space ready,” Tracy Robin, associate provost for student health services, said in a Jan. 26 student health insurance webinar.
An email will be sent to students when the exact date of Student Health Service’s in-person reopening is determined, Robin said.
Student Health Services was unable to offer in-person services throughout the pandemic due to the additional health and safety requirements medical clinics must meet under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Robin said in a December interview with the Free Press.
The lack of in-person services has resulted in some New School students being unable to access the medical care they need. In May 2020, the Student Health Center gave New School alumnus Sabrina Picou just two weeks to find a new medical provider. Picou struggles with a chronic health condition and was reliant on regular appointments with Student Health Services.
“The university had decided to furlough the medical providers at the school’s Student Health Services, and students were told that if they needed a medical professional to seek out their local providers,” Picou wrote in an opinion article published by the Free Press.
In July of that year, the Executive Vice President for Business and Operations Tokumbo Shobowale, announced that not all of the health service providers furloughed for the fall semester would be returning to work.
“With plans to have a very limited number of students and activities on campus in the fall, not all furloughed employees will be returning to work at this time,” Shobowale said.
During pre-COVID times, some students had frustrating experiences with Student Health Services. Una Sali, a third-year majoring in psychology at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, said Student Health Services workers left her debilitating illness untreated in 2019. After multiple attempts to seek treatment for her foot, which had gone entirely numb, Sali was told to only return to the Student Health Center to the Student Health Center if her pain persisted. She eventually went to the emergency room which cost more than she anticipated. Sali said she wishes that the school had specialists with a variety of expertise.
“Student Health Services should have more organized departments so that students and workers don’t waste their time allowing students to choose what kind of doctor they need for their specific issues from the start to make things easier for all involved,” Sali said.
Other students were impressed with the quality of virtual care that Student Health Services has provided since the start of the pandemic. Aisha Servia, a second-year double majoring in screen studies and sociology at Lang, had trouble accessing tele-health services when she started exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 in early September. Seeing that the soonest available Zoom appointment was in October, she opted to receive care through emails with a Student Health Services worker. This proved a speedy option, as she received a response the next day with the advice she required. When she came down with an eye infection later in the semester, Servia was able to book a Zoom appointment with Student Health Services and found it to be an effective way of getting treatment.
“There are students who actually find it very convenient to do counseling [virtually], and also medical appointments are totally fine over Zoom,” Robin told the Free Press in December.
To access counseling and medical care, students can visit the Student Health Services portal. There are no copays or fees for New School students that visit the Student Health Center, including those who do not have New School health insurance. In addition, every student is eligible for 10 free counseling sessions per semester.
Students who require additional treatment, immediate therapy or services that Student Health Services does not provide are referred to in-network providers for direct appointments. The department makes roughly 200 referrals per semester, according to Student Health Services. Students can search for in-network providers on the United Healthcare Student Resources website, but cannot schedule appointments through this website. For additional help finding a provider, students should email shs@newschool.edu.
If you or someone you know is experiencing mental or physical health issues and is unable to connect with a New School professional, text Got5U to 741741 to chat with a specialist at the New York State Crisis Text Line.
Correction: Students can look for in-network providers on the United Healthcare Student Resources website, but cannot schedule appointments here. A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that students can schedule appointments on the United Healthcare website.