MORGAN LEGEL | Columnist
How many doctors does it take to service all of Butler University’s students? This question is a riddle yet to be solved at the institution, which seems to be lacking in the health services area.
The university has four employees in the Student Health Services section of the Health and Recreation Complex, according to the Butler website. Among these four members are the director, an administrative assistant, one registered nurse, and one doctor.
With one doctor and one registered nurse, how can the Student Health Services possibly provide adequate care for all the students on campus?
Sophomore Erin Oldson does not believe they can properly provide health care for the entire student body with one doctor.
“I went in to the HRC and they couldn’t see me,” Oldson said. “I even said I was pretty sure I had mono, and they told me to make an appointment for three days later because the one doctor they have was busy.”
The website also states that the Health Service area’s hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and until 3:00 p.m. on Fridays.
“It also really bothers me that they’re not open on the weekends,” Oldson said.
Notre Dame University, like Butler, is a private university in Indiana, but it has twice as many students. With double the students, it has five times as many doctors.
This serves as a hint that we need to reform our health care on campus.
Reform starts with disruption— first, the health care system needs to be disrupted. Campus administrators do not know there are problems on campus unless students show them.
After bringing the problem to light, the next step is to think of a solution to propose. An idea would simply be hiring more doctors, but that would not help with the hours. A better idea would be to create an emergency center, but that would be very expensive.
The best idea would be to create an “on-call list” where, in emergencies or on weekends, doctors can come in as extra help to the center. This idea doesn’t involve constructing new buildings, but simply adding one or two more doctors to a list, and just paying them when they come in.
The third, and final step, is to present this solution to campus administrators.
Buddha once said, “To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.”
If Butler does not have an adequate health care system to help keep its students’ bodies in good health, how are the students supposed to keep their minds strong and clear to be taught everything there is to learn?
Healthcare on campus is a problem that has been overpowered by other seemingly more important issues on campus. But, if a student is not healthy, does it really matter where they park?
