UHS Patients: Results Unsurprising

There's no doubt that facts spread rapidly at Harvard--about which classes are easy, or which clubs are cool--but horror stories about students and the care they receive at University Health Services (UHS) appear to travel at the speed of light.

It seems like everyone's heard a tale about a roommate struck with a horrible ailment, hurrying to UHS for help, only to be told that they were fine and nothing was wrong.

Regardless of how the stories spread, or how exaggerated they may be, UHS does not conjure up a positive image in most undergraduates' minds.

The recently released "Students Attitudes Toward Harvard University Health Services" survey, initiated by UHS and conducted by Axiom Research Company, reports that 47 percent of those surveyed would not recommend UHS.

Not only are students wary of UHS in general, but they have specific concerns as well.

Thirty-six percent of the dissatisfied respondents said misdiagnoses were the source of their unhappiness, while 42 percent said it was the delays they encountered while visiting UHS that troubled them. Thirty-five percent of all students surveyed rated the courtesy and respect shown by the UHS receptionists as "fair" or "poor."

Zach H. Smith '00 said the results of the survey "are not surprising."

Smith suffered a broken leg several years ago after being hit by a car on Memorial Drive. When seeking treatment at UHS that night, he said he was told he was fine, and was advised to return home and take Tylenol for the pain.

The next day, Smith returned to UHS, and a doctor treated Smith for the broken leg.

But when the UHS survey arrived last spring, Smith didn't fill it out.

"I was annoyed. I didn't feel like UHS had done anything for me, so I didn't bother," he said.

Although Smith said that not all of his experiences with UHS have been negative, he maintains, "If I was in a car accident and my leg was broken, and I had a choice between going to UHS or a hospital 50 miles away, I would go to the hospital 50 miles away."

Allan W. Tulloch '01 said that although he doesn't go to UHS much, he doubts it lives up to its reputation.

"We joke that [UHS] is incompetent. I don't know if that's really true though," he said.

Undergraduate Council President, Noah Z. Seton '00 said he thinks that some of UHS's problems may stem from its image among the undergraduate population.

"The truth of the matter is...there are fears out there. Everybody has horror stories," he said. "The horror stories get passed along from person to person and things may not be as exaggerated as they seem."

Although the rumors about UHS continue to rage and the survey confirms some negative vibes about its services, other students find their health care satisfactory.

Brian R. Walsh '02 said his roommate had whooping cough last spring, and after talking to his proctor, Walsh went to UHS to get checked out.

He didn't have to wait for an appointment with a doctor and "they were pretty polite too," Walsh said.

"My experience was very good," he said. 'But I know people whose were very bad," he added.

UHS has already begun to take steps to correct its shortcomings highlighted by the survey.

Changes in staff scheduling will put more doctors and nurses at UHS during peak hours, making it easier and quicker for students to get care. The hospital has encouraged freshmen to choose a primary care physician, and 1,275 members of the Class of 2003 have already taken advantage of the opportunity.

Seton said he thinks UHS is moving to remedy its shortcomings.

"With the new after hours doctor they have in there, with more lines of

communication open, with more students choosing a team of doctors and nurses as their primary care physician, hopefully people's care overall will get better," Seton said.