I appreciate Lydiette De Jesus’ column and the light it shines on certain UCLA student health care needs. A core component of the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center’s mission is to provide access to high quality, affordable health care, and we welcome any opportunity to engage students and the broader UCLA community around issues related to their health and the services we provide.
To best meet the needs of our students, we collaborate closely with the Student Health Advisory Committee to tailor our services and optimize access. SHAC is a student board that is advisory to the vice chancellor of student affairs regarding health care issues for UCLA students. As such, we encourage students to provide input or express concerns directly to your SHAC representatives. We regularly survey students regarding appointment scheduling and availability, operating hours, staffing, etc. Based on SHAC’s input, starting in 2013 we expanded our hours with a Saturday morning drop-in clinic from 9 a.m. to noon, and recently developed the ASAP clinic to further improve same-day access to care for students.
ASAP works as an overflow to the broader primary care continuity clinic and is meant for low-acuity, single-issue concerns. Although students often prefer to see their personal primary care provider, the ASAP provides students with access to quality clinicians and allows them to be seen as quickly and conveniently as possible. We are pleased to report that student satisfaction data for ASAP has been high.
The Ashe Center is committed to continuing our partnership with students to provide the care you need, when you need it, affordably and conveniently. We welcome your feedback and are always available to hear student concerns and ideas.
John Bollard, chief of operations
Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center