An error was pirnted in last week’s issue of Talon Marks regarding the health fee increase.
The health fee did not increase by $10, in fact it only increased by $2.
The proposal for the increase of the fee was presented to several departments on campus including the ASCC and the Board of Trustees, which later approved the increase.
The school would not be capable of increasing the fee by more than $3. The chancellor’s office states that a community college health fee absolutely can not exceed more than $17.
Therefore, if Cerritos decided to make another health fee increase, it would only be $1 more.
Student Health Services Coordinator Nancy Montgomery stated that the increase was necessary because the Student Health Services is self funded from student fees; meaning that it does not receive money from district, unless a grant is written, and is solely dependent on student fees.
The reason why the increae was necessary, said Montgomery, is because of the amount of supplies the health center uses and needs now.
She said, “My first semester (at Cerritos) the center only attended about 20-30 patients. The second semester, it was seeing about 50-60 patients.”
Now, her second year here she added, the student health center attends about 90-100 students a day.
In order to be able to attend that many patients a day, you need to have the necessary medical supplies.
“That is why I have to personally go out and find 3-4 companies to try to bargain which one will provide the most supplies at the cheapest price,” she said.
Montgomery believes the increase comes to a benefit for students. Not only has the number of students being seen a day increased, but several progams have been established in order to provide even further help for them.
Programs such as the Family PACT program and the Pound by Pound program have been established this year. Services such as free pap smears, birth control, STD checks, and dietary services are now available for student usage.
The student health center tries to provide great services at a low price, said Montgomery.
Where in other clinics and hospitals you would have to wait for hours to be seen, charged a ridiculous amount for the consultation and medication, the student health center consultation for students is free and the medictions prescribed do not exceed more than $2-$4.
So in fact the health has only increased $2 from the previous price of $14.
