An email was sent out to Pomona College students by Dean Avis Hinkson on Thursday, October 10 titled “SHS Temporary Suspension of Services.” The Student Health Services (SHS), serves all five Claremont Colleges, including Pomona, Harvey Mudd, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, and Scripps Colleges, providing non-urgent healthcare for roughly 6000 undergraduate students.
In the email, Hinkson explained that a document was attached, referring students to “Alternate Locations for Required Immunisations,” along with another document for students needing urgent care, but failed to advise students on where or how to get non-urgent care.
Hinkson reassured students on Financial Aid that those students would be able to apply for reimbursement of transport costs via the Dean of Students Office.
According to SHS’s website, SHS is currently only as an urgent care clinic due to “a critical shortage of RN nurses and medical providers…SHS has temporarily suspended scheduling NON-URGENT appointments and will be scheduling all non-urgent appointments a few weeks out, beginning October 14th.” (emphasis original)
Non-urgent care includes sports physicals for athletes, TB tests, immunizations, and STI testing.
Hinkson’s email
The alternate locations included doctors local to Claremont, California—where the colleges are located—and hospitals and urgent care centers, including Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center and the San Antonio Community Hospital, respectively located in the neighboring cities of Pomona and Upland. Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center is approximately a 15-minute drive away from campus.
SHS stated that it “added a new MD provider earlier this month and an additional RN nurse this week.” Hinkson added that SHS “anticipates being able to provide regular service by the middle of October.”
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