| November 13, 2019 | Krissia Palomo and Jill Bold | campus editor |
|---|
When TR student Ashley Nguyen went to health services seeking medical care, she was surprised by how she was treated.
“I went to the nurse’s office and knocked for three minutes because I was lightheaded and felt like I was gonna pass out,” recalled TR student Ashley Nguyen. “So I went over there and she refused to treat me and told me to go see a doctor instead.”
Health services departments on all campuses continue to withhold first aid care for all students and faculty, and stories of students being denied care are beginning to emerge.
Assistant professor of English Cecilia Sublette asked NE president Kenya Ayers about health services on NE at her State of the Campus presentation Nov. 8. Sublette said she read about the lack of treatments that health services provided in a story reported by The Collegian.
“I was concerned about health services when I read about it,” Sublette said. “I know a lot of students rely on them to receive over-the-counter medication, so I hope it’s made available again.”
Ayers explained the health services issues saying that a “personnel action” put this situation in motion.
“Every one of our health sites has to have a physician who has oversight and that position has orders related to our health centers,” Ayers said. “When he was not present and questions began being asked about the health services, there was a question about the scope of what we offer … and a discovery across the college that different campuses were doing different things.”
Ayers explained that because of the inconsistency of services districtwide, a need to stop and reset was necessary. She acknowledged a large group of constituents is served by health services.
“It was scary for a lot of people,” Ayers said.
A districtwide meeting of campus police and administrators was scheduled to talk about what are the next steps and how to achieve it, Ayers said.
“We’re in the midst of an assessment related to our health services operations,” said vice chancellor of communications and external affairs Reginald Gates in a Nov. 7 email.
Gates said he will wait for the assessment to conclude before answering any other questions or make any public statements.
Determining how many people have been affected by this situation is difficult, as the health services offices cannot comment on how many people have been given referrals.
Not all students have noticed the change. NE student Mason Dupuis said that he didn’t know TCC had a health services department and has never utilized its services.
NE student Ivy Murugi wonders where her tuition money goes.
“This is nuts because we pay tuition, and tuition is expensive,” Murugi said. “Some people have debt because of college. The least they can do is treat your bug bite.”
Health services will continue to provide referrals to students who come in seeking medical care. In case of any medical emergency, call 911 or campus police at 817-515-8911.
