Manage your expectations for the best HelWell experience

The Student Health and Wellness Center, the University clinic located on 31st Street, is often the recipient of criticism from the student body, and it seems like everyone has a friend with a horror story about HelWell. Although the center is flawed, it does serve its stated purpose. HelWell would greatly benefit from a few changes, but it does not deserve the harsh reputation it has garnered.

College is a unique time for students and how they interact with healthcare. Many college students do not have a primary care physician, and even those who do have one (beyond their pediatrician) are often far away from home and thus cannot access their physician. This situation puts students in limbo — they don’t know where to go when they require medical attention, and they don’t know what to expect.

With the clinic nearby and the renowned reputation of Hopkins medicine omnipresent, students turn to HelWell for the majority of their healthcare needs. HelWell is intended as a primary care service for non-emergencies, but, as Director Alain Joffe notes, students often treat HelWell as their all-purpose hospital when in reality, it is simply a doctor’s office.

Students should recognize that the Student Health and Wellness Center serves a specific purpose and is not capable nor intended to serve all of their healthcare and medicinal needs, and as in other clinics, it’s unreasonable to expect the doctors to provide an instant cure. Although less convenient and not specifically catered toward University students, MedStar Union Memorial Hospital on N. Calvert Street is an extremely accessible resource to be used for serious medical needs and emergency situations. Additionally, the Johns Hopkins Hospital located in East Baltimore provides another well-equipped resource for students’ urgent medical needs.

Moreover, students should utilize HelWell’s referral system, even if it seems like extra effort to spend the time to see another doctor. HelWell offers personalized referrals when students require specialists or care that HelWell cannot provide; this is extremely useful for students new to Baltimore who are unfamiliar with the doctors and specialists around campus. Many medical practices do not accept new patients without a referral, so students should take advantage of this system when they need serious care. The clinic has an insurance/referral coordinator dedicating to guiding students through the process.

Although students do need to recognize HelWell’s true purpose and limitations and thus manage their expectations of the clinic, HelWell should acknowledge the fact that University students are in an unfamiliar position in which they have to seek out their own healthcare services. A patient’s relationship with their primary care physician is a crucial aspect of their healthcare experience. Students’ transition from a familiar doctor whom they trust to a new temporary clinician is often uncomfortable and not ideal, even if it’s only for a few years. HelWell can and should make small changes to help aid this transition, such as enacting a policy in which students consistently meet with the same doctor following their first visit, with an option of switching if the patient requests. This minor change could help students to build relationships with the doctors at HelWell and consequently feel more comfortable at the clinic.

Although HelWell is imperfect, it does a formidable job at its purpose of serving as a student clinic. If students manage their expectations, and HelWell recognizes students’ situations and adjusts accordingly, the two will better be able to interact on campus.

Editor’s Note: Editor-in-Chief Samhita Ilango was not a member of the Editorial Board this week.