Sometimes it's not a bad thing to sound like a broken record. Speaking before a Board of Trustees committee last week, Student Health Service Director Evelyn Wiener pleaded for more funding and a new space for her office.
And yesterday, this newspaper did the same, calling on Penn to relocate Student Health to a better and bigger facility.
But that's only half the battle. Even a new space won't turn Student Health into a shining example of a student-health office - there are many other things that need to be done to improve the quality of care.
n Communication. Often, after students make visits to other providers, Student Health isn't kept informed of changes in the their conditions.
SHS is already working to bring records online, and, if implemented properly, this will be a great step forward.
n Primary care providers. Currently, Student Health is set up to be flexible, allowing for students to see whichever doctor is available when they visit. While the next item of importance is convenience, this system means that students will see many different doctors over the course of long-term care, each of whom will have to start from scratch in learning about patients' conditions.
Luckily, as Student Health's Web site claims: "In the coming year, [SHS] will begin to assign all students to an individual clinician."
n Convenience. A system that would allow students to book appointments online is years overdue. As Wiener told the trustees, SHS is already working to create this system.
n Even more funding for CAPS. Especially at peak hours, the Counseling and Psychological Services waiting room becomes packed with students seeking care. Administrators delivered earlier this year with a 25-percent increase in CAPS' budget, allowing for the hiring of five new staff members. But with a 30-percent increase in the number of students seeking care between 2000 and 2005 - and this is only expected to increase - funding increases should continue.
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