On Sept. 22, 2023, the University of California, Riverside (UCR), celebrated the completion of its new Student Health and Counseling Center (SHC). According to an article by InsideUCR, the completed building is 39,450-square-foot and two stories tall.
The official website for the new SHC displays a variety of information about the services that they offer, immunization requirements, insurance details, as well as an about us page. Their mission, as stated on the welcome page is to “promote academic excellence, enrich the student experience, and support retention by providing high-quality, accessible, and comprehensive medical care to students with a focus on multidisciplinary services, health education, and prevention.”
Denise Woods, the Vice Chancellor for Health, Well-being & Safety expanded more on the planning and construction process for the new SHC, stating that “the building has been in the works since about 2019. I arrived in 2019, and as soon as I got here, we were having conversations about the building, and what we wanted included in the building.”
With the new Student Health Center up and running, there are a number of changes to the facilities and services offered that differ from the old building. Woods explains how there are now nine departments operating within the building including:
- Basic Needs, a program to help with “food and housing insecurity.”
- Student Health, the “primary care facility” and “primary clinic on campus.”
- Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), a “direct one-on-one therapy service for students.”
- Case Management, a “campus navigator for those experiencing challenges on a variety of issues. [If] they don’t know where to start, [or] they don’t know where to go, they can reach out to a case manager.”
- Student Disability Resource Center, which “provides students with physical, psychological, and learning accommodations.”
- The Well, a “health education and promotion department.”
- Campus Advocacy, Resources & Education (CARE), a “department that has programs and resources related to healthy relationships and also provide[s] support to students who have experienced sexual assault.”
- University of California Police Department (UCPD), which includes “campus safety and police services.”
- And the newest department, Student Well-Being Intervention & Follow-Up Team (SWIFT), the “crisis response and intervention team.”
Of these departments, there are a few which have locations on campus as well, such as Basic Needs and the Well. Woods explained that “those locations are their permanent locations on main campus, and then here, we have satellite spaces. We’re in the process of trying to identify the best times for the Well to be here and have programming or resources available for students related to health education and promotion … We want to use this building as a one stop shop for students…
“We’re trying to figure out the best ways to provide resources for a slew of challenges that students face, and we’re trying to make it as accessible as possible. A lot of our departments are already doing really great work, but if the students don’t know about it, or they don’t know how to access the services, then that is something we want to try to address in an efficient way and really in a more holistic way.”
These were values that were taken into consideration when the size and location of the building were determined, according to Woods. “We knew that it had to grow beyond just providing primary care services and counseling services, because health care, holistic health care and well-being has evolved from 40 years ago. We wanted to address issues on a wide range for our students… They [should not] feel like they have to run all over campus to get what they need. And so that was kind of the vision for this place.
“It’s a place where you can come [and] it’s peaceful. We have the views of the mountains, very beautiful views. The colors [inside] are calming, we tried to make it so that it’s very welcoming when you come in. We have several spaces where students can just hang out or study or meet up with other classmates. We have [an] outdoor space where they can sit too.”
In terms of insurance, Woods states that any student can come to the SHC and have access to the services provided, but that there is a difference in cost depending on whether a student has UC Student Health Insurance Plan (UCSHIP) or not. CAPS is a service that any student has access to and can get an appointment for whether they have the school insurance or not. And that “similarly, for [the SHC’s] satellite spaces, for the Well, for Basic Needs, for Case Management, for SWIFT, that’s available to all students.”
Students who do not know about which service to go to upon arrival at the SHC have a few different ways to identify which resource would best suit them. The front desk has staff on hand to help answer questions and direct students to the appropriate location. Various student peers are stationed throughout the building to assist students that come in and also help answer their questions.
If a student wants to schedule a checkup, consultation, or appointment, Woods suggests that students go to their website and then click on the patient portal, which is accessible for all students, and then go there to make an appointment.
Woods expands stating that “the online portal is available 24/7… They can go online and book an appointment at any time.”
The hours for the SHC are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the last appointment being at 4:15 p.m. In the case that a student has an emergency and is unable to make it at that time, Woods explains that “we do have a 24/7 nurse line so they can talk to someone there. The nurse can triage and recommend that they go to urgent care right away or to emergency services nearby. Or they may say if it’s not urgent that we open up tomorrow at eight and suggest you go first thing in the morning.”
For the future, there are plans on expanding services that are offered as well as extending hours. Woods states that “ We’re also talking about potentially having some hours on the weekends because we’ve heard from students that it’s hard to get here before five o’clock if they’re working on campus or [if] they’re a grad student. And so we’re trying to first address some of those concerns and see how we can rectify that before we bring in others.”
