Monmouth University’s Health Center, located on University Road on the residential side of campus, provides students with an abundance of resources from rapid tests to vaccines. But, some students, like me, find it difficult to utilize these resources with the limited hours of The Health Center.
Health Center services are completely free and open to all students. “When you come in here [The Health Center] you are seeing fully certified nurse practitioners and we do have a consulting physician who is here 2 half days a week as well. You are being seen by a provider who can diagnose, manage and prescribe any medications that may be indicated for you at the time,” said Kristine Kelly, APN, Director of Health Services.
As for what specific resources are provided for students, according to Kelly, The Health Center offers rapid tests for COVID-19, mononucleosis, strep throat, and the flu. “We have the
ability to test urine, pregnancy tests, and we have several other tests we can send out to the lab as well,” continued Kelly.
Apart from rapid tests, students can also receive vaccines on-site. “We have access to the Hepatitis B vaccine, the Tetanus shot, and, while it is not a vaccine, we can do PPD testing for anybody that needs it for clinical sites, substitute teaching, that kind of thing. We do charge a fee for those because we do have to purchase those, but again, we don’t charge your insurance, it’s a nominal cash fee,” Kelly explained.
The Health Center is open Monday through Friday from 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s important to note that The Health Center opens 15 minutes after the first classes across campus begin and closes before many classes commence. Having The Health Center open 45 minutes earlier could allow students to get there before their classes start, so they don’t have to skip, especially if they go in for something minor.
Additionally, the center is closed on the weekends. The weekend is arguably the most active time across campus, and, knowing college students, one of the times The Health Center would be most utilized.
Having the center open on Saturdays and Sundays would also be great for students who cannot find time to go during the work week because of their busy schedules.
“Since I am currently completing field hours for my major, my days usually end around 6:00 – 7:00 pm. By the time I get home, The Health Center is closed. With it also being closed on the weekend, I do not have the time in my schedule to go get free medical care, I have to pay for it somewhere else,” said Kristen Frawley, senior sociology and social work student.
While The Health Center has limited hours, the University does have a partnership with HMH Urgent Care, “We do have a preferred partnership with the HMH Urgent Care that is located in Eatontown right of of 36. They’re open until 8 o’clock and are also on the weekends from 8 until 4. So there are options for students there,” said Kelly.
Although the university does have other partnerships, most students prefer to go to The Health Center because it’s free and easily accessible. Taylor Memoli, our Editor-in-Chief, recalled a time she wished The Health Center had extended hours, “During my junior year here, I came down with what I later found out was the flu. I started really showing symptoms on Saturday and by Sunday; I was completely out of it and stuck to my bed due to weakness. I usually attend The Health Center, but since it was the weekend, I had to drive myself down to Carbon Health (since the Urgent Care on the corner doesn’t take my insurance) and had to wait a long time in the waiting room to be seen. If I was able to walk a few minutes to The Health Center, I would have felt more comfortable than being behind the wheel and in an unfamiliar doctor’s office.”
Though students have expressed their desire for The Health Center to stay open longer hours to their friends and peers, it is also vital for students to explain those concerns with the people who can implement changes on the administrative level.“I would recommend that if somebody has some concerns or suggestions for improvement that they definitely reach out. Obviously, if that [being open longer hours] is something that keeps coming up over and over again, that’s obviously something we can look into,” said Kelly.
So, if you want to see change on campus, make sure to make your views and suggestions known. Change and improvements will never happen if we don’t share our opinions and ideas.
