UHS Is Just Not 'E.R.'

For years students have been griping about the quality of the University Health Services (UHS). Most people have at least one story to tell--problems with scheduling, lengthy waits or difficulty in securing a primary care physician.

Still, the facilities offered at Holyoke Center are far better than at many colleges around the country. Having eight floors of medical facilities just off of campus is a rare luxury for college students. Checking in and out of an appointment is just as easy as swiping an ID card in the dining hall.

Somehow the conveniences and inconveniences seem to always balance out on average, so that year after year complaints are never translated into significant change. Chronic complaints can be taken to the student advisory board of UHS, and this group usually gets results.

However, problems which need more immediate results cannot be solved through this route. In situations where the need for medical attention is urgent, these minor complaints can suddenly become tremendously hazardous. Indeed, the current state of the UHS emergency room warrants serious attention.

On a recent Sunday morning, I went into UHS with a minor hand fracture. There was no X-ray technician in the building; there was no doctor who would examine an orthopedic patient. Both of these personnel had to be called in from their homes, both over a half hour away.

When they finally arrived, the doctor turned out to be a knee specialist, hardly unqualified, but still clearly uncomfortable with explaining the nature of the fracture and the wrapping of the cast for my arm. My hand was swollen around my class ring, and he immediately cut the ring off, laughing at my suggestion of trying a little soap and water first. I headed home three hours after I arrived at UHS with an ace bandage "cast" and a broken ring, wishing I'd sprained my knee.

My return for a follow-up appointment was impeded by a receptionist who was unable to offer a time for me to see the doctor on any of the days of the following week. She suggested that in the future I should call further in advance--before my injury, perhaps? Once I was able to get an appointment--three weeks later--I was faced with a lengthy wait to see the doctor. He happened also to serve as the emergency room doctor that day, so regularly scheduled patients were just not a priority.

Clearly, as emergency situations go, my injury was not so severe. Still, pity the student who has the misfortune to fall from a window on the wrong day of the week, who arrives at UHS and has to take his own X-rays, and see an ophthamologist for his injuries.

Realistically, though, many students believe that these problems will never become an issue. After all, if they found themselves in a "real" emergency, the wise ambulance driver would take the patient to a "real" hospital. However, as long as UHS purports to boast full-service emergency care, and not simply to serve as a makeshift clinic, it should live up to its responsibility to ensure that the patients get immediate and expert care.

There is no doubt that the Boston area is filled with first-rate medical facilities that can handle the emergency needs of Harvard students. However, the time it takes to travel for this care could honestly be the difference between recovery and permanent damage for patients with heart attacks or spinal injury.

Serious accidents happen on college campuses all the time. As last weekend's tragedy in the Boston University hockey arena shows, on-site care needs to be readily available at all times of the day. From athletic events to slippery winter weather, hazards exist for all members of the Harvard community. There is no excuse for University Health Services' failure to provide complete and emergency care.

Corinne E. Funk's column appears on alternate Tuesdays.