Student Health and Wellness Center

Rendering of the Health and Wellness Center

Location

Corner of Orchard Road and La Rue Road

Hours

Click Here for Hours

Phone

(530) 752-2300

Advice Nurse

(530) 752-9649

Pharmacy

(530) 752-2338

Website

Student Health and Wellness Center

On Monday, March 29, 2010, all services formerly provided at the Cowell Student Health Center have been relocated and are available at the UC Davis Student Health and Wellness Center. All phone numbers and contact remain the same. All students who attend UC Davis have access to the services offered at this facility on campus.

The Student Health and Wellness Center does a pretty good job serving the healthcare needs of UC Davis students, especially with its new facilities. The center provides basic healthcare, but does not offer dental services. There is a pharmacy which provides prescription medications as well as non-prescription over the counter medications. The pharmacy has the same hours as the Student Health Center with the exception of some holidays. The health center has begun offering optometry services, which are located on the second floor. It also has a very good website where more information about benefits can be obtained. While you are waiting, there is wifi and a pair of public access emacs in the lobby.

A normal office visit will cost you $15, and an Urgent Care visit will cost you $20. Tests are about $10 depending on what you need, and x-rays are $30. The Student Health and Wellness Center also has physical therapists, a dietician, massage services, as well as acupuncture services. If you buy the school's health insurance, generic prescriptions are $5 and brand name drugs are $25. Non-formulary drugs, i.e. drugs not normally carried by the pharmacy that need to be ordered, cost $40. They also sell a variety of other self care things such as band-aids, condoms, sunblock, etc. The student outreach portion of the health center is Health Education and Promotion, and among other things recommends that freshmen living in the dorms be vaccinated against meningitis.

If you are not sure whether you need to see a doctor, you can call the Advice Nurse. You do not need to be enrolled in the university's health insurance to do this, so even students who submitted a waiver can get advice from trained professionals.

UC Davis Student Health Services urges all students to receive the seasonal flu vaccine. The seasonal flu vaccine protects against three influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. The current flu vaccine will protect against 2009 H1N1 and two other flu viruses. Immunity from the vaccine wears off after several months, so students need to get the vaccine every year. It is not possible to get the flu from the injectable vaccine, since the virus is inactivated (killed). There are many myths about the flu vaccine such as the vaccine causing a person to get the flu. This is a non-issue as the virus is inactivated and not alive. However, the vaccine won't protect you against every single strain of flu out there, nor can it protect you against all the cold viruses out there. Many people confuse the common cold and the flu. You can still get sick with a cold or other strains of the flu that are not covered by this vaccine. However, some protection is better than none.

There are risks to vaccination. If you are allergic to eggs you could suffer an allergic reaction to the vaccine. This is rare and only occurs for people who are allergic to eggs. Most people are not allergic to eggs and the vaccination can be administered.

Walk-in vaccination is available Monday through Friday from 9:30 - 11:30 am and 1:00 - 4:30 pm on days that the center is open. No appointment necessary. Just check-in on the second floor.

Students may also receive vaccination during any routine primary care visit, attend a flu vaccination clinic, or schedule an appointment for vaccination.

• $35 charge for all students* ($15 visit + $20 cost of vaccine. Fees will be billed directly to a student's campus account.)
• SHIP members receive the vaccination at no cost after billing to Aetna Student Health.

The FluMist Intranasal vaccine is another option. It is an easy to take nasal spray.

Fees will be billed directly to a student's campus account.

Students who get vaccinated at a walk-in clinic will also receive a coupon for 10% off their next purchase of Over the Counter self-care supplies (OTC/non-prescription) through the SHCS Pharmacy.

Whooping Cough Epidemic Advisory

Due to a statewide outbreak of Pertussis (Whooping Cough), the California Department of Public Health urges you to get the Tdap vaccination. You can make an appointment at Student Health Services for a tetanus/acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine. It is always helpful to have your immunization records available for review at the time of your visit. The Whooping Cough vaccine is combined with the tetanus vaccine, so you only need one shot to get protected from tetanus and whooping cough.

• Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection that causes a harsh cough lasting 6 weeks or longer.
• Immunity from childhood pertussis vaccine wears off by mid to late teens.
• The CDC recommends a single Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) booster shot for adults.

History Student Health Services was established in 1909 shortly after the opening of the Davis campus. In 1912, the department occupied a small wing of East Hall, which is the current location of Dutton Hall. The initial concept was to assist students with their health problems by providing minor health care, which allowed them to achieve overall academic goals. Furthermore, this health service would improve Davis’ entire academic program by committing resources to the public health responsibility of maintaining a healthy community and student body.

With funds from the S.H. Cowell Foundation, UC Davis was able to construct the Cowell Hospital & Student Health Center. At its dedication in 1967, the facility had an inpatient and outpatient service, in addition to an emergency clinic area and a pharmacy, which accommodated the campus population of 12,000 students. More recently, the facility was converted to handle only outpatient care and was renamed the Cowell Student Health Center.

Having grown to a student population over 30,000, Student Health Services outgrew the Cowell Student Health Center. Student support expressed in the 2002 Campus Expansion Initiative, funded $50.5M for the construction of the UC Davis Student Health & Wellness Center to meet the growing student body. Beginning Spring Quarter 2010, Student Health Services relocated all of its services to the Student Health & Wellness Center. Student Health Services merged with CAPS in 2011 to become Student Health and Counseling Services.

The Student Health and Wellness center sits on land that was previously occupied by basketball courts and greenhouses. Prior to basketball courts, it was the location of an outdoor roller hockey rink and greenhouses.

Construction Images

Construction Progress as of Sept. 15 View 1 View 2 View 3

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2011-06-09 07:48:45   The nurses treated me like a little kid. It was a little annoying. —EdSmith

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2011-11-14 10:16:59   The new building is amazing, very beautiful and clean feeling. The staff has been very nice as well. There are massage chairs available to students at CAPS and the Health Education and Promotion department to relax in. The Love Lab is on the third floor too, along with free stuff like napping kits and buttons. Parking is never an issue because there is dedicated patient parking right in front of the building that doesn't require a campus permit (you just have to ask the receptionist for a pass). Great location too, right by some dorms and the ARC. Love the computer terminals open to students, and the ability to check in on computers is awesome too.

Also, I heard that they are adding an optometry department in a few months! —IndigoShell

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2011-11-14 22:17:56   A nurse left me in a room, after I'd already seen the doctor, for over a half-hour. Stuff still needed to get done and she was supposed to come back...luckily someone else came by eventually. The facility is OK, but it's still a college health center—it's not like going to your doctor or seeing a specialist. —LeTigre

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2012-07-13 20:31:47   Actually, that's exactly what it is like. If you have student health insurance, your primary care physician will be here. In addition, they do have specialists, like psychiatry, dermatology, and some others. It's a pretty nice place. —DavidBenjamin

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2012-07-17 17:25:12   Just to clarify since I've heard from a few students who thought they had to wait for the optometry clinic to open... For any student requiring vision services through SHIP, you don't have to wait for the optometry clinic to open. You can see any number of providers in and around Davis who participate with the Anthem/EyeMed vision insurance. There is an old provider listing on the student health insurance website, or you can search for a provider through the EyeMed website by selecting the "Insight" network plan. Once the optometry clinic is open, they will be providing services on campus in addition to all the existing providers in Davis, and students can choose where they would prefer to go. —Dr.Baker

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2016-08-29 10:56:33   I've never really cared for this place at all, but they are here when you are in a pinch and need something fast. Twice I've broken out in rashes from severe contact dermatitis and both times two separate nurses looked at me and immediately pronounced that I had herpes before the doctor had even seen me. Both times the doctors said no, that's called an allergic reaction and a stronger prescription steroid cream helped immediately. Sometimes I wait a long time, and other times it's fast - some doctors don't want to hear what you have to say and are in and out faster than you can say "But I have a problem", while others won't stop talking at all and/or spend a long time with you. I'd prefer something in between. I don't often feel heard here, but again, it's helpful for very obvious, easily diagnosed, immediate needs. The student health insurance is pretty crappy, but then again, most employer insurances are too so it's probably on par with those. By crappy I mean endless waiting, referrals that get lost or forgotten, costs that are hidden or not explained, high copayments and coinsurance and deductibles (yes, be prepared to pay all three), etc. I've never been happy with the insurance or the center. But, it's better than nothing. Flu shots are fast at least. —KristinaWolf

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2016-08-29 22:21:08   DON'T GO HERE EVER. Seriously. Don't. —KristinaWolf