Comprehensive Guide to Penn Student Health Services

The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) is dedicated to fostering a campus-wide community of CARE, emphasizing compassion, accessibility, respect, and empowerment for all students. Wellness at Penn embodies this commitment by providing comprehensive resources and support systems focused on the holistic well-being of its students. Student Health and Counseling, a division of Wellness at Penn, serves as the primary source for medical and psychological care, ensuring students have access to the services they need throughout their academic journey.

Commitment to Student Wellness

Wellness at Penn is dedicated to caring for students during their academic journey while creating a campus-wide community of care. The university employs a multi-channel approach, collaborating across campus to center the health and wellbeing of students, faculty, and staff. This includes initiatives to educate the community on current policies for communicable disease surveillance and prevention, insurance and immunization, health policy, and substance use.

Accessible and Cost-Effective Care

Penn is committed to providing accessible, cost-effective, and student-centered care, including primary care, gynecologic care, LGBTQ+ care, sexual health, sports medicine, and travel medicine. Medical services are accessible through the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, located adjacent to campus, and in the Student Health Center.

Primary Services Offered

Penn Student Health Services offer a wide array of services designed to address both the physical and mental health needs of students. These services include:

Medical Care

Students can access a variety of medical services, ensuring their physical health needs are met. These include:

Primary Care: Comprehensive primary care services are available to address acute and chronic health problems. Student Health and Counseling is committed to providing safe, accessible, cost-effective, culturally-sensitive, and student-focused care.
Gynecologic Care: Specialized care for women's health needs.
LGBTQ+ Care: Tailored healthcare services that cater to the unique needs of LGBTQ+ students.
Sexual Health: Resources and services related to sexual health, including education and preventative care.
Sports Medicine: Medical care and support for student-athletes and those involved in sports activities.
Travel Medicine: Consultations and vaccinations for students traveling abroad.

Mental Health and Counseling

Recognizing the importance of mental health, Penn provides a range of counseling services:

Individual Therapy: One-on-one counseling sessions to address personal challenges.
Group Therapy: Group sessions that provide a supportive environment for students to share experiences and learn coping strategies.
Drop-In Conversations: Informal, accessible opportunities for students to discuss concerns with a counselor.
Culturally-Focused Mental Health Counseling: Services tailored to meet the specific needs of students from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Student Health and Counseling is the primary care and psychological care division of Wellness at Penn. Our team is dedicated to providing high-quality, compassionate care for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students during their academic journey. Our team provides care for acute and chronic health problems, preventative health services, as well as mental health and counseling, crisis management, and consultations.

Accessing Penn Student Health Services

Access to Wellness at Penn services is offered to currently enrolled students. The university ensures that accessing these services is straightforward and convenient.

Insurance and Immunization Requirements

To ensure the health and safety of all students, the University requires all full- and part-time students to have adequate health insurance and remain up-to-date on their immunizations. All full-time and dissertation-status students, and exchange students here for a semester or more, must enroll in or waive the Penn Student Insurance Plan (PSIP) annually, as all students must carry comprehensive health insurance as a condition of student enrollment at the University of Pennsylvania. If you have your own insurance coverage, you may waive enrollment in the Penn Student Insurance Plan.

Penn requires all full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students to be vaccinated with certain immunizations before arriving to campus. Please note: clinical students enrolling in the nursing program, the Dental School, PSOM, the School of Nursing, or the Vet School have different requirements.

PennChart Access

Through your PennChart account, you can access your Student Health and Counseling records and upload and manage your immunization records. Students can send non-urgent messages to their care team within Student Health and Counseling and get a response through your PennChart account. Our new EHR lets students easily and securely share their Student Health and Counseling health record with Penn Medicine and other providers outside of the organization. Our new EHR allows access to test results online when they become available. Students can also access notes written and shared by their care team during medical care and counseling visits. Students can edit their personal details within PennChart/Epic (like requesting a name change and adjusting how their name or pronouns show up for their providers). If you already have an existing myPennMedicine account, there is no need to create a new account.

Clinical Fee

Access is provided through Penn's Clinical Fee. The clinical fee will be per semester.

Office Hours and Availability

Below are Student Health and Counseling’s in-person office hours of operation, unless otherwise noted when schedules are modified for holidays and breaks. We always have a person on call to address urgent medical questions. For example, if you are not sure whether your symptoms should warrant an immediate visit to a hospital Emergency Room, the on-call provider can help you figure out what to do.

Emergency Care

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call PennComm (24/7) at 215-573-3333. There are several options in Philadelphia (you can search online for them), and their hours vary. Remember that you and your health insurance plan are responsible for any costs related to this care. Patients can be evaluated and possibly admitted into the hospital for more intensive treatment. Remember that you and your health insurance plan are responsible for any costs related to this care. Emergency Rooms should not be used for mild conditions that can wait until our office re-opens for business. Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC) - Myrin Building, 51 N.

Additional Resources and Support

In addition to direct medical and counseling services, Penn offers various resources to support student well-being:

Read also: Penn State Admission: Average ACT

Ongoing University Resources

Ongoing University resources are available to students in need of information, assistance and support. Everyone on campus should be aware that students who have experienced or know someone who has experienced assault or abuse can turn to the Division of Public Safety Special Services Unit, Student Health and Counseling or the Penn Women’s Center. Anyone in doubt of where to turn should call the Penn Help Line, anytime, at 215-898-HELP.

Disability Services

Penn students who have a disability can request accommodations through Disability Services at the Weingarten Center. To register, follow the steps in the Getting Started Toolkit. Accommodations must be requested before the start of each semester.

Health Information Privacy

With federal HIPAA laws in place, Student Health and Counseling providers are not able to communicate with anyone other than the student, including parents, without consent from the patient (student). This law is designed to protect one’s privacy and control how health information is accessed and disclosed. The Health Information Exchange - to opt out, let the front desk staff know or call our office at 215-746-WELL (9355).

Promoting a Culture of Wellness

Creating a community of care involves a multi-channel approach with collaboration across campus to center the health and wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff. This includes initiatives to educate our community on the current policies for communicable disease surveillance and prevention, insurance and immunization, health policy, and substance use. Wellness reserves the right to reschedule any appointment when the patient arrives after half of their appointment time has elapsed. If you arrive without an appointment, we will offer the next available appointment (which might be a different day).

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