UHS reopens to ill students

Between Thursday evening and Sunday morning, five students were transported by officers, Department of Public Safety Deputy Director of Operations Charles Davall said in an email.

“Four of the instances resulted in the student being taken to UMCP, and one student was taken to UHS,” he said. “The four students who were taken to UMCP were taken there because of the level of medical assistance that they required.”

The decision to divert students, according to University Spokesperson Martin Mbugua, was not unusual.

“We are fortunate to have an on-campus health center with 15 beds, though at times when bed occupancy is unusually high students who need medical care may be directed to the local hospital,” he said, but he did not specify when students had been diverted from McCosh in the past.

The outbreak also has not affected McCosh’s operations in any significant way, said Mbugua.

“University Health Services clinicians are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the academic year. Staffing levels are determined on an ongoing basis to ensure the availability of a wide range of services for our students, and overall costs are not associated with specific illnesses,” Mbugua said in an email.

Students were not informed before the decision was formalized because the University’s primary concern is to provide medical care, according to Mbugua.

“This is an operational decision,” he said. “The services available to students [are] to ensure that medical care is available to students as needed.”

According to Mbugua, operations returned to normal by 8 p.m. Saturday evening.

Students transported to UMCP will also not face any disciplinary consequence.

Transports to McCosh and UMCP both “require conversations with the respective dean, and those conversations are primarily educational, not disciplinary,” he said.

Regardless, students will still be held responsible for the costs incurred by the transportation to the medical center.

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“Transportation by ambulance may be covered by health insurance,” said Mbugua.

Still, Davall emphasized that cost should not affect students’ decisions to call for help.

“The University’s continued message of seeking assistance for others continues to resonate with students, and members of the University community are seeking help for students when they are in need of assistance,” he said.