Wardenburg: Is it a helpful health resource or an unstable cost center?
This eleven-part series is an in-depth look into the 2007 University of Colorado Student Union budgeting process. Every year, UCSU is charged with distributing more than $30 million in student fees, controlling more money than any other student body in the nation. This series, running over the two-week period that the budgets sit in the hands of the Legislative Council, will explore the process, the people and the effects of the decisions made by your student leaders.
With major budget cuts on the horizon, CU students speak out about what they really think of Wardenburg Health Center.
Despite its national reputation as a highly-ranked health center among Big 12 conference schools, on-campus opinion of Wardenburg
seems a bit shaky.
UCSU Budgets 2007: CP’s 11-day Series
Part 1 | The budgeting process – How it works
Part 2 | Ups and downs – Tracking the past
Part 3 | A hardline approach – Determined council seeking 0 percent
Part 4 | Rec Center – Unscathed, but for how long?
Part 5 | UMC – Between a rock and a hard place
Part 6 | Wardenburg – Struggling to stay afloat
Part 7 | Ghosts of budgets past – Previous mistakes haunt Wardenburg today
Part 8 | A community responds – Students on their health center
Part 9 | Taking the brunt – Advocates in danger of losing their programs
Part 10 | Life changer or money waster? Controversial alcohol program on the block
Part 11 | In the public eye – Bracing for the $30 million dollar decisions
Although the Health Center requested a $645,000 budget increase, it was denied and Wardenburg actually faces major cuts to their budget. Programs like the Striving to Achieve Real Success substance abuse program and the MusculoSkeletal physical therapy could be affected. Before Wardenburg faced the recent budget cuts, it was already ranked one of the lowest-funded Big 12 conference health centers. Members of the UCSU finance board feel that a low number of students actually benefit from these programs.
While many students themselves may feel secure in their own decision to use the facility, unfavorable stories from their peers are still widely known. Junior advertising and psychology major Jennifer Payne has never had a problem herself, but recently had to help her friend out of a sticky situation she feels was made worse when Wardenburg got involved.
“I’ve always had a good experience there; the doctors are really nice. But my friend had a panic attack and got tunnel vision. Basically, he went into (Wardenburg) and they were just kind of throwing out ideas like that he might have had a stroke, but they said it might be a panic attack also. Then they offered him some Xanax and said he could go home,” Payne said.
Payne did not feel her friend had received proper care and decided to take him into a different facility for a second opinion.
“He came to my house and he was still obviously really messed up and he couldn’t talk. We took him to an emergency room at Boulder Community and we told the woman that they had let him go at Wardenburg. She gave us this look like ‘Are you joking?’ They obviously didn’t do enough at Wardenburg; he was still in really bad shape when he came to me,” Payne said.
Other students who have recurring non-emergency medical conditions feel that they get just the care they need.
“Since I have acid reflux, I just go see a doctor for monthly check-ups and I’ve never ever had a problem,” said Christina Trevino, a sophomore psychology major.
Many agree that on-campus medical care is a good idea and can be a very helpful resource. Tyler McClellan, a senior international affairs major, also likes the convenience that the CU campus health facility brings him as a student.
“I think for the job they have to do, they do a pretty good job. It’s nice just to have on-campus medical insurance that I haven’t had for awhile because I just came back to school this semester. I have to go somewhere,” McClellan said.
However, a recent illness made him somewhat unsure about the quality of care he receives.
“But I think relatively speaking, they are not as good as they could be. I was just really sick last week and I had to go in there twice to really get them to do anything for me to get medicine,” McClellan said.
He said he felt like it was hard to get the staff at Wardenburg to prescribe medicine he felt would make him better.
“They are really wary to give you medicine you might actually need, because they act like you might be lying or something,” McClellan said.
Senior communication major Libby Murfey agreed that it was hard to get medicine she felt she needed, but not because she felt like the staff was untrusting. Murfey was disappointed by a recent trip to her doctor when she was told that Wardenburg’s insurance didn’t cover a new preventative vaccine that she felt would have been covered had she gone to another provider.
“My experience has been alright. I’ve heard other things, like that they’re a little disorganized. Just recently I had a doctor’s appointment and she told me that the insurance doesn’t cover a new vaccine and that really upset me,” Murfey said.
Tuesday: A human face to a threatened program – CP talks with a Community Health Program leader.
Stay tuned to thecampuspress.com for continued coverage, live blogs of the Thursday night meetings and breaking developments as they arise.
