Catherine Hogue
Features Writer

For Millersville students, part-time or full-time, medical services are offered free of charge right on campus at the Health Services building, which is located on George Street between the Chryst and Hash buildings.
Health Services is staffed by a physician and a nurse practitioner, along with a group of skilled registered nurses dedicated to giving students the best care possible. Their mission statement, found on their website, symbolizes their commitment to good health and education: “Our mission is to provide high quality, holistic health services to Millersville University students and the campus community; to continue to assess determinants of health and current health trends in order to provide the most appropriate, relevant, cost-effective health care in a campus clinical setting; to promote disease prevention, healthy lifestyle choices, and reduction of risk-taking behavior; to demonstrate culturally competent care for this diverse population we serve, recognizing that every individual defines ‘quality of life’ by their own unique culture and value system.”

Visit the Health Services website: millersville.edu/healthservices to schedule an appointment.
Visit the Health Services website: millersville.edu/healthservices to schedule an appointment.

Health Services offers a wide variety of medical services, from exams to in-house lab testing to vaccines to STI testing. The staff typically see anywhere between 60-80 students a day. However, they do stress the fact that they do not provide written excuses for missed classes. With the flu season upon us, Health Services is offering free flu vaccinations. All students need to do is call and schedule an appointment with a nurse. They can also do blood draws and in-house lab tests, as well as work with your insurance company if you need X-Rays. Also available are rapid strep, flu, and mono tests, as well as urine tests if needed. With Lancaster County being one of the top areas in the country for allergies, allergy testing can be done and chronic illness treatment and monitoring can be implemented (allergies, diabetes, asthma, etc.). Some vaccines are offered at low prices. Their prices rarely exceed $20. Prescription medications can also be filled through Health Services in order to save you time at the pharmacy.
Nurses can perform well-exams if students need physicals for pre-employment applications or driver’s license applications or the like. In addition, they also perform well-women exams and offer a three-month supply of birth control for only $35. STI testing is also available to all. One afternoon a week the Susquehanna Valley Pregnancy Clinic comes to Health Services and offers free pregnancy tests to those in need. For mothers, the second floor of Health Services houses a lactation room available for either breast-feeding or pumping. The room contains a rocking chair, lactation stool, refrigerator to store breast milk, and even a changing table.
There is a self-care cart located in the waiting lobby that is free to students. If you feel a cold coming on, there are cold-packs that contain Tylenol or Ibuprofen, Sudafed, and cough drops. There are also Band-Aids, antibiotic ointments, over-the-counter pain meds, and even a drawer with free condoms in it. Health Services also works closely with the counseling center to provide students with the best overall care they can. They deal with mental health issues, which they say have been becoming more prevalent each year.
One of the main goals of the staff at Health Services is to provide students with an education regarding their own health so that they can make choices toward a healthy lifestyle on their own. They encourage good health habits, such as cutting back on smoking or drinking, without coming across as overbearing. They want to keep students educated about good health so students can do well and graduate.