Sniffling, sneezing and other illness symptoms can be enough to ruin a student’s day or even week. California Lutheran University’s Health Services offers general medical and preventative services for students living on campus. For $10, full-time students can have a routine office visit to treat symptoms that may be bothering them.

According to the CLU website, Health Services offers a range of services that include: diagnosis of acute conditions, first-aid for noncritical emergencies, medication, lab tests, education on sexual health, medical referrals and immunizations.

“We also offer free smoking cessation products, such as nicotine patches, gum and lozenges, which are provided to us by the Ventura County Public Health Department,” said Kerri Lauchner, director of health services. “We also can run some lab tests in our office, such as rapid strep tests, mono tests, urine pregnancy tests and urinalysis.”

Senior Dani Lindamood was walking to the cafeteria when she started to feel faint. After deciding to take a break from walking, she passed out. Upon waking, her boyfriend Benn Lewenstein and a CLU employee took her to Health Services on a cart.

“I was seen by Health Services outside of their normal hours. When I got there, they pricked my finger for my blood sugar levels and gave me juice. It was before they were supposed to be open,” Lindamood said. “They were attentive and tested me for what they could.”

After allowing Lindamood to lie down and get some rest, they recommended she see her doctor to address the cause of her fainting episode. From there, Lindamood was out and felt significantly better.

“We do refer out to specialists when someone presents with a problem that is beyond what our office can manage, such as diabetes or broken bones,” Lauchner said.  “If the student needs to see a specialist, we can give them recommendations to local doctors and help them figure out how their insurance works locally.”

“My experience was generally pretty good, but their hours aren’t very conducive to going there for most college students,” Lindamood said. “Things happen on the weekends that also require medical attention.”

Health Services hours are from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  On Tuesday, the hours have recently extended from 9 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.  On Thursday, hours are 9 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. and 1 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. The office is closed on the weekends.

For some students, these hours can be a bit strange and inconvenient. Junior Holly Dunn had an experience where she wished Health Services could have been open.

“I had a runny nose, fever and chills on a weekend. It was the worst,” Dunn said. “I wasn’t feeling well enough to drive 35 minutes to my doctor’s office from back home, and in that moment, I was wishing that Health Services was open.”

According to the Health Services website, students living on campus should notify their resident assistants of their after-hours health problems.  A nearby urgent care office is listed on their website on 620 E. Janss Road with their phone number,  (805) 495-6866. The website recommends to call first to see if they take insurance.

If an emergency were to occur, students are advised to contact Campus Safety at (805) 493-3208 about ambulance provisions to seek emergency care at nearby Los Robles Hospital.

Berlin Galvan
Staff Writer
Published Nov. 13, 2013