Full Disclosure… This deliberation event was very awkward because nobody in the entire room aside from Montana and I spoke hardly at all.

I attended this deliberation event because I am a Type 1 Diabetic and I felt as though it would be useful for me to know the most about the health services the university has to offer as a student with medical needs. Also, I have been to university health services and mount nittany health a few times this year and felt as though their care was somewhat sub par. Therefore attending this event seemed like a beneficial use of my time, to see what other options there may be around campus aside from the Mount Nittany Medical Center and the University Health Services.

I came to this event seeking knowledge but sadly seemed to supply most of it to others on account of my numerous visits to the health clinics around town. Questions were asked regarding personal experience and a few people answered but their answers were very specific to their experiences and their illnesses while attending. I provided some input regarding my visits and tried to universalize my answers so that others could relate based on their visits and not just hear about mine.

Another hot topic was the idea of a university wide necessity of health insurance. This conversation had some depth and began as just a discussion of health insurance on campus in general. Questions were proposed by the group leaders regarding whether people used health insurance from their families plans, their own plans or if they bought a new student health plan for themselves. Or even if there were those who had no health insurance. The answers were pretty mixed. Most people were using their parents health insurance plans as a convenience and a cheaper method. I am on my own health insurance plan but that is because I am from farther away (California) and my insurance is not covered here. So I use AETNA student insurance for Penn State University’s campus. This insurance is convenient because it is the campus insurance, this means that my visits and using my insurance plan are usually the easiest and most convenient routes in getting access to the health services here at Penn State. We discussed the differences between the multiple health insurance options, and how those who did not have health insurance under certain circumstances would receive free medical treatment that came out of other’s pockets. This is when we began to discuss the idea of a university wide necessity for health insurance. This would mean that by committing to come to PSU, you are committing to buying health insurance. In other words you are not allowed on campus here unless you have sufficient health insurance. There were mixed thoughts on this topic, but overall it seemed as though people did not oppose it. Some mentioned that perhaps others could not afford it, others had the idea that we just add it into our tuition here as part of our dues. There were many possible solutions to the problem lying in the lack of health insurance across the university. People seemed to agree and congregate toward the conclusion that everyone on campus should have health insurance of some sort, but a solution as to how to make it a reality was left somewhat in the air.

Another topic discussed was the effectiveness of the current health services we have on campus. Many students again gave personal stakes about their visits to the health services centers and discussed their thoughts on how well they were treated. The overall consensus was that the health services offered here were average, but not at all the best they had ever had. It was mentioned that wait times were unbelievably long and that the care received was lackluster once they finally had made it in to see a doctor. Others suggested that at Mount Nittany Medical Center, which is essentially the emergency room here on campus, there were very few checkups and very little attention given to their patients. I have experienced the same, but it is easy to imagine that treating the high flow of students is no easy task. After all we do live in a town with 40,000 college students many of whom visit the hospitals and health services more often than usual due to their drinking habits on campus. I’d say for the amount of cases that they have to deal with, the health services are doing alright. I would not give them any better than that simply because I think there is no substitute for solid medical care as it is important for healthy and happy living, but I also understand the given task at hand and see how much they must deal with on a daily basis.

This deliberation event was slow moving and did not provide much new information to me, but I felt as though if there had been someone of high importance to the medical community present, perhaps they could have taken this information shared and made it useful.