Covid-19 pandemic disrupts student health center patient flow
Why the patient numbers at Washington and Lee’s Student Health Center have shifted since before the Covid-19 pandemic
By Victoria Ernst
Healthcare professionals nationwide warned of a surge in viruses as legislators loosened Covid-19 masking mandates. But data from Washington and Lee University’s Student Health Center shows this is not the case for its students.
Data from the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic years show that the total number of student visits to the health center is lower than what it was pre-pandemic. The number of visits in the so-called 2020-2021 “Covid-year,” when the University followed a strict “no-Covid policy,” was lower than any year in this century by over 1,300 visits.
The lower number of patients in the 2020-2021 academic year does not reflect how busy the health center was, said Physician Assistant Matthew Crance in an interview.
“There were some nights when I was here 11 o’clock, 12, even 1 o’clock because we would get a positive and they would give us their close contacts,” Crance said.
Crance thinks the drop in visits during the 2020-2021 academic year could be attributed to the University’s masking and social distancing policies. Students were required to wear masks indoors and limit their close contacts while learning virtually to reduce the chance of infection.
W&L shifted to a Covid-19 management policy the following academic year and returned to in-person teaching. This 2021-2022 academic year saw more student visits to the health center, Crance said. But the number of acute infections and total visits has yet to reach the pre-pandemic levels, according to the annual census data.
The masking and social distancing policies that were upheld until midway through winter term could contribute to the lower number of student visits, Crance said.
Though the census for this academic year is not available, Crance said he thinks the flow of patients this year has not quite reached that of pre-pandemic levels. He said one reason for the lower number of patients could be because of student attitudes toward the health center.
Students who feel sick are now required to test for Covid-19 before receiving further medical treatment.
Emma Conover ’24 said her attitude toward the health center has changed as the University switched from a no-Covid to a Covid-management policy.
“In the height of 2020 and 2021, going to the health center wouldn’t have really mattered, because we were getting tested twice a week,” Conover said. “But now I wouldn’t really look forward to going to the health center if I had a cold because I would have to get tested.”
Nina Gallagher ’23 said she had no fear of going to the health center before the pandemic, but now she fears the inconvenience of quarantine. Gallagher said she would take an at-home Covid-19 test before going to the health center if she were sick, but she would rather seek care elsewhere.
“I think all my roommates and I would have gone to urgent care over going to the health center this year,” she said in an interview.
Abigail Hansen ’24 shares a similar sentiment. She said she would rather go to urgent care to “avoid the bureaucracy of the school.”
University Physician and Director of Student Health Dr. R. Allen Blackwood Jr. attributes the lower number of student visits partially to a disrupted virus cycle. But he also recognizes the shift in student attitudes and address it.
He said he thinks the 2023-2024 school year will be better for student attitudes, as the University begins construction on its new health center and takes patients at the interim health center. The interim health center will be located on campus at 200 Generals Lane.
“There’s not going to be the testing window. There’s not going to be that stigma of going through that process, and I think our protocols will change as far as how many people we test,” Blackwood said in an interview.
The University is working to expand health services for its students, Blackwood said. The school hired registered dietician Clark Simcoe this academic year to provide care for those with eating disorders or others seeking nutrition advice.
Rebecca Paulson joined the nursing staff last academic year to help with the logistics of Covid-19 testing and contact tracing. Since the number of Covid-19 infections has dropped, Paulson now assists with the nursing staff.
Part-time physician Dr. Renee Beirne also joined the health center team this academic year.
As the pandemic becomes less of a concern for campus, Chair of the Covid-19 Committee at
W&L and Associate Provost Paul Youngman said the University looks to return its focus to other aspects of student health and wellness.
Youngman said that W&L will follow the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ recommendation to stop treating the pandemic as an emergency on May 11. The committee will create an after-action report of the pandemic years and re-evaluate its current Covid-19 policies.
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