The John W. Wilce Student Health Center — located at 1875 Millikin Road — offers a variety of health services, including primary care, physical therapy and gynecological services. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Lantern File Photo
As the days of your parents making doctor appointments for you draw to a close, it can be daunting to navigate the healthcare system on your own. Luckily, there are plenty of affordable resources to be taken advantage of both on and off campus.
On Campus
Whether students are seeking relief from common college illnesses, a COVID-19 test or physical therapy services, Ohio State’s Student Health Services offers a large number of health services to students, staff and faculty.
The Wilce Student Health Center — Student Life Student Health Services’ on-campus building, located at 1875 Millikin Road — offers five floors of health services to students, including primary care, physical therapy and gynecological services. It is an appointment-based facility, so students must make an appointment in order to be seen.
Dr. Sheila Westendorf, the medical director at Student Health Services, said the center can take care of most acute and chronic medical conditions.
With the Wilce Center being in a central campus location, Westendorf said the center often becomes students’ “medical care home” due to the easy access to specialized care.
“We’re lucky, the [Wexner] Medical Center is in our backyard, and so we have a lot of access to specialty care if our patients need it, because not every university, [like] smaller universities in smaller areas, don’t always have the access that we do here,” Westendorf said.
Westendorf said beyond primary care, the center also offers transgender-affirming care, eating disorder care and mental health care. Additionally, it offers vaccinations and travel care for students who are looking to study abroad.
“If in doubt, patients can always ask and call if we do something, and if we don’t do it, we can probably help them find someone that does or refer them to someone that does,” Westendorf said.
The Wilce Center has language-translation services for those who need it, including for Spanish, Arabic and Chinese. Westendorf said the center’s staff can find a translator for most languages a patient may speak.
When it comes to payment, all students are required to have an active insurance plan when they are enrolled, according to the Office of Student Life’s website. Even so, Westendorf said if someone did not have insurance, the Center would not turn them away.
“Generally speaking, we would still bill them, but we try to work with people on that part of it,” Westendorf said.
Westendorf recommends that students check their insurance coverage to make sure their treatment plan is covered.
“We encourage incoming students to check their insurance coverage because although we take many of the larger insurance payers, there is always a chance that someone is not covered and they think they are covered,” Westendorf said.
Students can make an appointment for the Wilce Center by calling 614-292-4321 or logging into their BuckMD account. The Center is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Students looking for mental health services can also visit the Younkin Success Center — located at 1640 Neil Ave. — for counseling and consultation services. The center offers personal, group and family counseling services, as well as faculty and staff consultations.
Westendorf said anxiety is one of the top diagnoses given at the Wilce Center, and for students who may need a higher level of care, the Younkin Center can help provide it.
Students can make an appointment for the Younkin Center by visiting its website, where they can schedule phone screenings or in-person appointments. The Younkin Center is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The center also offers evening services by appointment from Monday-Thursday 5-7 p.m.
Off Campus
There are various off-campus clinics and centers readily available to Ohio State students.
CVS Pharmacy — located at 2610 N. High St. — offers its MinuteClinic, which provides vaccines, physicals, treatment for illnesses and infections and more. Evaluations and treatments can range anywhere from around $99 to $500, according to its website.
The MinuteClinic accepts most insurance plans and is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Friday, and is open until 5:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Students can make an appointment at the MinuteClinic by visiting its website or walking in.
Out of the Closet Thrift Stores — located at 1230 N. High St. — offers free, same-day HIV testing and STI treatment to those who need it. Patients can walk in for HIV testing but must make an appointment for STI treatment, according to the Short North Arts District’s website. Out of the Closet offers this service through a partnership with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that specializes in HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention and advocacy.
Out of the Closet’s testing site is open from Monday- Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. for HIV testing, Monday-Thursday from 3 to 6:30 p.m. for STI testing and Monday and Thursday from 2:30-6:30 p.m. for same-day STI testing.
Students can make an appointment by walking in or calling 614-291-2680.
