Cabrini’s Health Services plans to shut down at the end of spring semester. There has been no public announcement regarding closure, however Sue Fitzgerald, Director of Student Health Service, has been informed that her position has been outsourced to an outside campus provider.
The assumption was that Health Services would remain open until the end of the semester. With the announcement of campus closure, Health Services is now closed to the public.
Cabrini University has yet to make a statement or answer any of Loquitur’s questions.
Penn Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine in Radnor has been identified as the primary care practice for students to utilize. It is unaware of what transportation will be provided if students need medical attention.
Fitzgerald has been a professional college nurse for over 33 years, and is invested in educating the importance of campus health to college students.
“I think that student health services have great value on a college campus for lots of reasons, both individual patient care, community health and well-being, health promotion, health education and public health perspective too,” Fitzgerald said.
With the lack of accessibility and personal assistance, students find this more difficult to utilize.
Students rely on Health Services as a place of comfort and a source to receive minor medical assistance. For many students college is the first time they are responsible for themselves. Having a service on campus and someone to walk you through makes the adjustment easier.
Students, particularly students who live out of state, are concerned with the new changes. Many students are not covered in the state of Pennsylvania or uninsured.
“We don’t have a lot of access to free health care, certainly none in walking distance that I know of, so I don’t know how those students will be served,” Fitzgerald said.
Gabriella Ayala, a resident of Louisiana, relies heavily of Cabrini’s Health Services because she is uninsured in the state of Pennsylvania.
“I have been able to have access to flu shots, birth control and medical advice when needed. Also, Health Services has been able to comfort me while I’m thousands miles away from home. Without Cabrini’s Health Services, I would have no way to get affordable healthcare.”
Aylala find it a big inconvenience to students that they no longer will have a service that is easily accessible on campus. Many students cannot pay out of pocket bills and medical service is very expensive with no health insurance.
About 13 percent of people ages 18 to 24 don’t have health insurance.
“Students need affordable healthcare available,” Ayala said. “People fail to realize that there are students who need to have access to medical care on campus and not two miles away from campus.”
