Whether you’re dealing with a cold, a sprained ankle or a mental health crisis, Trinity Health and Counseling Services are there to help you. Excluding university-wide closures for holidays or weather, both clinics are open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the school year.
Marcy Youngdahl, director of integrated counseling, health and wellness services, said the health services clinic operates as a kind of urgent care or primary care model.
“Our mission is to be available for students that are needing care, mostly for sick and injury care,” Youngdahl said. “We also offer preventive services and procedures for students, such as vaccinations. We’re available for minor skin procedures, that type of thing.”
Youngdahl said that for many students, Trinity Health Services marks their first time seeking medical care independently. According to her, she loves being able to help students start off on the right foot with taking care of their own health.
“I want students to know that we’re not like a regular health clinic. We don’t contract with insurance companies, so that allows us to have very low costs,” Youngdahl said. “To see a provider, myself or our nurse practitioner, Caroline Forman, it’s $20 for a visit. To see a nurse, there’s no visit cost.”
Part of Trinity’s strategic plan, “Ready. Set. Rise,” is to expand on what both Health Services and Counseling Services offer. Youngdahl said that they are looking to create an integrated space for counseling and health services.
“Our vision is to find a place on campus where we could all three be together,” Youngdahl said.
According to Youngdahl, sharing a space would help the clinics work together more efficiently, allowing them to refer students to each other within the same building. Counseling Services also aims to be accessible to students through Telehealth counseling, according to Aisha Woods, director of counseling services. She wrote in an email that the service is free, confidential and available to all students, and they can email [email protected] to schedule appointments.
“Even if students choose not to use Counseling Services, my goal is to make sure they always know it is an option for them during their journey at Trinity,” Woods wrote. “We want to make the process of getting connected to Counseling Services as easy as possible. Sometimes that first step is the hardest and we are here to help with it.”
Woods and Youngdahl said they want more students to take advantage of the resources they offer. Daniel Gelfert, sophomore political science major, said he utilized health services when he was experiencing a swollen lymph node. He said it was beneficial to have on-campus help readily available.
“I think just purely out of terms of accessibility, it’s so easy. You walk a quarter mile over there and wait for two minutes and then someone sees you,” Gelfert said.
Charlotte Newman, junior human resource management major, has utilized health services to be tested for strep and to have stitches removed. She said they were kind and able to help her.
“Everyone there is super nice, and they just want to help you. If you just call them and let them know what’s happening, they’re going to be very receptive to it, and if they can’t help you, they will absolutely do everything they can,” Newman said. “They just want to help the student body stay healthy.”
In addition to the examples given by Newman and Gelfert, the clinics offer a wide variety of services. Health Services includes confidential calls about health problems, blood testing, STI testing, common vaccines among other services. Counseling services offers psychiatric services, couples counseling, off-campus referrals, support groups and more.
Overall, whether it be physical or mental health issues, Trinity has numerous affordable options for students to utilize on campus. According to both Youngdahl and Woods, they are there to help all students and are always welcoming more.
