Amaris Alarcon
Due to staffing shortages in the Student Health Center, Beth Benne, R.N., director of the Student Health Center at Pierce College, recognizes that if the student health fees could increase that would not only help the staffing shortages but it would also help the health services provided for the students.
The problem is that the budget for the Health Center is based on student enrollment, meaning the $11 health fee students pay upon registering for classes is the only thing providing funding.
What helped the budget in the past was the passing of Assembly Bill AB 982 a few years ago, which stopped fee exemption for students receiving Board of Governors Fee Waivers.
According to the California State Assembly Democratic Caucus Web site, the reason why AB 982 was needed was because the number of students receiving BOG Fee Waivers had increased significantly, resulting in less revenue to support health services.
Nevertheless, the current amount of money is no longer enough to support the shortage of staff in the health center.
Despite the Los Angeles Community College District charging students $11 for the last nine years, the state allows for the health fee to be increased to $17.
“If we were to charge $17 a student per semester and if enrollment was maintained at 18,000 students, then that would give me approximately $200,000 in addition to what we get now,” Benne said. “I would then turn around and use that money for staffing.”
Benne said the Associated Students Organization was extremely supportive of this measure, even going to Sacramento with her and testifying in order to get the bill passed.
“I now need the students again to talk to our board and our chancellor and say that a higher health fee will give the students more services,” Benne said. “Then I’m going to turn around and give more to the students.”
Students like Oscar Ramirez agree that raising the student health fee will be beneficial and it wouldn’t be a significant increase.
“You pay more going to McDonald’s,” he said jokingly.
The problem with raising the health fee is that all nine campuses in the LACCD have to agree to raise the fee, allowing students to receive health care at any of the district colleges.
What makes it even more complicated is that the Student Health Center at Pierce is the only one in the district operated by the college; the other eight campuses have contracts with outside health agencies.
“I think what I offer is a better deal,” Benne said. “Longer hours of coverage and better pricing for the students. But I don’t know for certain.”
The problem will become evident once the Student Health Center moves to the Student Services Building being constructed near the Freudian Sip.
Seeing as how the new location will be bigger, Benne is requesting a fully staffed unit because she feels her employees are already being overworked and overwhelmed.
“The ideal solution would be that our board of trustees would pass a board rule that would make our health fee increase as the state allows it to increase,” Benne said.
However, there are students that disagree with the increase of the fee.
Pierce student Joseph Randari said, “I wouldn’t like it because I just pay for it but I never use the services.”
It would also be easy to say that hiring student volunteers would help the staffing shortage. However, there is a problem of confidentiality that is critical to maintain in health care.
While Benne states that volunteers can be a lot of help, students don’t really have a role in that type of health care setting.
With this mess remaining unsolved the students are being left out of many of the resources that could possibly be given to them.
Pierce student Sevasti Iyama (left) receives a checkup from health/medical assistant Bonnie Zahavi at the Pierce college nurse’s office on Monday Oct. 20, 2008. ()