Which colleges have health care including prescription writing available on the weekend?

College Search & Selection
1

In 2019, does your college offer access to a health care provider on campus who can write prescriptions (i.e., a physician, physician’s assistant, or nurse practitioner) on weekend days?

Please name the college and yes/no. Add comments/ clarifications as desired.

I’ll start:

Name of College: Williams College, Massachusetts
Answer: No.

Comments or Clarifications:

There is an RN who can see you on a Saturday or Sunday, diagnose you as having a major ear infection, but not be able to write a prescription for antibiotic… and advise you that it might be better to drive yourself to the emergency room than to wait for Monday, when someone who can write prescriptions will be on campus.
Nearest UrgentCare or hospital emergency room: Bennington, Vermont

2

Purdue has Saturday hours where you can get a prescription and have it filled on campus.

There are three urgent cares in W. Lafayette for after hours and Sundays.

3

Wow, waiting a couple of days could be very dangerous not to mention the high cost of ER. That’s not acceptable at all. And no one wants to drive if they are ill.

4

^^That’s small town life. Not only the college kids have to wait for care but so do the people living in Williamstown.

Does your medical insurance have an online consulting that could convert the on campus nurse’s diagnosis to call in a prescription (if there is a weekend pharmacy in town)? Some are able to phone in an antibiotic Rx.

5

Is Student Health weekend daytime hours and staffing really a deciding factor for anyone? Should it be?

6

Bowdoin - no. Urgent care facility a few minute walk from campus (under 1 mile). Pharmacy within walking distance as well.

7

I have never thought about this but with the Michigan Hospital right on campus I assume so. I would assume larger VS smaller schools would.

8

Welcome to small, rural town life @TheGreyKing :slight_smile: (from someone who lives in a small rural town).

9

Is the 20 minute uber ride from Williamstown to Bennington really that unreasonable? I live in the suburbs of a major city, and it would take me 20 minutes to drive to my doctor’s office. I don’t think most adults live closer to their doctor’s office.

10

Is there Uber? If you really are in a small, rural town Uber doesn’t exist for us. That said, given proximity to North Adams etc Williamstown probably does have Uber . . .

11

In today’s day and age, there is uber, zip cars, friends with cars, taxis, etc… If you are so sick that you can’t use any of the above options, there is 911.

At Purdue, there is also an active group of “Townie Moms” who will go pick up your sick kid and take them to urgent care or the ER (and stay with them until family arrive if they need it). Wonder if other schools have groups like that?

I look at college health services as being the equivalent of a doctor’s office, not a hospital.

12

Wow that’s really cool @momofsenior1… My kids have just gone to the doctor office by themselves.

13

@Knowsstuff - The Townie Moms are AMAZING! Last year a mom ended up taking a student to/from Indy (over an hour each way) for a special infusion that could only be done there. They also do stuff like deliver birthday care packages, holiday treats, get well packages, etc… with all the proceeds going to Purdue’s food bank. Also super helpful for referrals for specialists, dentists, eye doctors, restaurants, hotels, etc…

It would be cool if all colleges had a local group like that.

14

Trinity College new for 2019 partners with Hartford Health Care for its health care and urgent care. For off hours a NP is also on call 24/7 for call backs and Hartford Health Care Urgent care 4 miles away. Ubers always easy to get. Emergency Care also at Hartford Hospital if need be.

15

@momofsenior1 I wish Amherst College had Townie moms! Bless them for doing so.
Amherst College students can access a clinic at UMASS on weekends and an on call nurse via telephone, however there is nothing like having a mom to help navigate when you feel like crud.

16

When my Williams kid has needed medical attention, campus services has driven him to Bennington, VT (which isn’t as far as it sounds…maybe 15-20 minute drive).

Campus services has waited for my son to be seen by the doctor and then driven him back to campus. He has also had friends who have gotten sick on the weekend and campus services have driven them to get medical attention, too.

17

Berkshire Medical Center runs a 24/7 emergency room at the former North Adams Hospital. It is about 6 miles from the Williams campus. Your son can call Campus Safety and Security and they will arrange transportation.

18

@Fifty- when I mentioned the Berkshire Medical Center to S, he was astounded that the college nurse had told him the nearest care would be in Bennington and the next nearest in Pittsfield!

It was interesting that, after your post, I was able to find the info about it on the website, but only in the “Parents” section of the health care section, not in the other parts of the health center section that are aimed at students!!! No kid (esp. one who is sick and in pain and running a fever) is going to think to look at the Parents section of the website, esp. having been told in person where the nearest care supposedly was.

Regardless, as parents we do think that a college should be able to arrange a prescription for a kid over the weekend. At $70,000, it is outrageous to expect a kid to travel to an ER, wait in the ER waiting room, and pay for an ER visit, for something as simple as an antibiotic that should have been able to be arranged through a phone call with an on-call doctor after the RN looked into the ear and diagnosed the ear infection. Why on earth wouldn’t such a well-endowed college be able to provide such a simple service?

(Luckily, S convinced his physician near our home to call in a prescription to the nearest pharmacy to the college, so he avoided the ER visit.)

To us, this is one of our mounting concerns with quality of life at his college, right up there with arriving to a dorm room where half the furniture was broken and could not be used until the college repaired it, and other issues of this sort. My spouse is getting quite angry. For $70,000 a year, these quality of life problems should not exist. (Yes, there is a lot else to love about the college, and the education is superb. I am not saying it’s bad. I have, after all, been a big cheerleader for Williams, praising it in many other College Confidential posts. I am just saying that they need to pay more attention to quality of life for their students.)

I appreciate everyone’s sharing of information about what other colleges provide. This is very helpful to us.

19

A sampling of colleges of various types:

Stanford University (wealthy private university with hospital and medical school on campus):
https://vaden.stanford.edu/about/hours
https://vaden.stanford.edu/get-help-now/after-hours-services-when-vaden-closed

Santa Clara University (less wealthy private university):
https://www.scu.edu/cowell/

San Jose State University (public university):
http://www.sjsu.edu/studenthealth/

Mission College (public community college):
http://missioncollege.edu/student_services/health-services/index.html

It appears that the expectation for most students at most colleges is that they be able to seek medical care in the community if the campus student health center is closed or if it does not offer the needed services for the situation.

20

Someone should create a corollary thread on which universities are close to a Kaiser, especially many people have this insurance but it is not available in many states, plus at a place like UCSB, the nearest Kaiser Hospital is 45 minutes away.