No health insurance, no problem

No health insurance? No problem says Jo Buczko, coordinator of PCC’s Student Heath Services.

“If they are worried about their health, we have services to offer them,” Buczko said. “Whether you have insurance or not doesn’t matter to us, [that’s why] students pay a health fee.”

While Student Health Services offers a wide array of services from immunizations to clinical services and everything in-between, Buczko said if a student comes in with an issue they can’t take care of, they give them a referral to off campus offices that can take care of it.

“If it’s beyond our level of care we can refer out but most of the students that come in were able to take care of. We’re here to assist you in knowing what’s normal and what is not,” Buzcko said.

As for students who might not visit the health services out of fear or anxiety about a problem, Buzcko said the best thing to do is just go in and get it over with. “I can understand them being anxious about coming in but a lot of energy goes into worrying about the worst case scenario but most of the time its not.”

And while there are many students that may never actually come into the health center, Buzcko says they can still benefit from the services offered. “We’re growing, we see about 8,000 students a year. In the time we’re open there’s a lot of students that come in and don’t see us, they just pick up condoms or use the machine.”

She also suggested students subscribe to the online college magazine Student Health 101 where they can get updates straight to their phones regarding health tips on problems that effect students. “It’s a college health magazine for PCC students and they can sign up free,” she said.

While most students are aware that Health Services are available to them, some still choose not to use them for their own personal reasons.

Max Barkley, anthropology, said that even though he has never needed to use the Student Health Services, he wouldn’t feel comfortable using them if an issue did come up. “I’d feel more comfortable using someone through my family,” he said.

Calvin Rivera, TVR, said he would also feel uncomfortable using the Student Health Services’ doctors and nurses and feels that the $13 Student Health fee should be optional. “I have never really needed them and if I did I wouldn’t think about using them because I go to my doctor,” he said. “Me personally I believe we shouldn’t be forced to pay for it but in fairness to others it’d be best if they had a choice. I’ve been here two years and never used it once.”

Other students feel the opposite, Adriana Sanchez, geology, who has used the services multiple times, does not understand the lack of trust some students might have toward the Health Services.

“They are very helpful, they don’t waste your time at all,” she said. “They’re not there to hurt you, that’s not why there’re there, they are there to help.”

Adilene Sanchez, English, said that while some students feel they may never need the Student Health Services, they shouldn’t put it off.

“Just because some people don’t use it they don’t know what is going to happen to them, you don’t know when you’re going to get sick,” Sanchez said.