Ohio University offers a wide range of healthcare services for students and locals in Athens.
OhioHealth Campus Care is hosted in the Hudson Health Center. There, students can find urgent care, primary care and psychological services, offered to any OU undergraduate, graduate or medical student enrolled in one or more credit hours.
Primary care services at Hudson require an appointment, but urgent care does not.
On the third floor of Hudson, psychological and counseling services are provided to any student, including individual and group therapy, psychiatric consultation, addiction recovery, telehealth support and crisis and emergency.
Anna Casteel, OU’s student health insurance administrator, provided advice to those considering receiving psychological services.
“There's walk-in hours, and what I tell people is, if you try counseling, you don't ever have to go back if you don't like it, but don't let the person you talk to detour you from not trying it again,” Casteel said.
Ping Recreation Center also houses a well-being suite on the second floor that includes massage chairs, a relaxing pod, coloring books, weighted blankets and other relaxation tools. The suite is open to any student with an OU ID.
“There are a lot of different things that any student can use, you know, without insurance,” Casteel said. “If they just need to take a break in between classes and they want to chill out in the corner and color for a little bit, they can.”
OU’s medical school also offers a student-run clinic, known as the Heritage Community Clinic. The clinic offers medical assistance to underinsured or uninsured individuals in the community, providing health screenings, diabetes care, sexual health and wellness, bus driver physicals and primary care.
OU requires all students enrolled at the Athens campus to be on an insurance policy. If a student wishes to maintain their preexisting insurance plan, they may do so and can waive the university insurance at any time before Sept. 11.
Students can also choose to enroll in the university plan, known as the Student Health Insurance Policy, which is renegotiated each academic year.
Any student who does not complete a waiver to opt out of the university insurance policy will be considered uninsured, remaining on the student plan, with the charge staying on the student’s account.
Students not on the university plan can still receive care at Hudson Health Center.
Casteel advises upcoming students to have their health history ready before the beginning of the school year, including shot records and a digital copy of their insurance identification.
OU provides insurance through United Healthcare, and most healthcare centers in Athens are directed by OhioHealth.
“It (OhioHealth) owns and operates Campus Cares, Urgent Care in West Union and O’Bleness Hospital, so that's all Ohio Health, and it does take most insurances,” Casteel said. “It will bill any insurance, but it's the patient's responsibility to know if your insurance is in network or not.”
Casteel suggests that students go to Uptown Clinic on Court Street or Urgent Care on West Union Street as alternatives when campus care is not open. However, those facilities require an out-of-pocket cost depending on the healthcare plan.
Casteel also highlighted OU’s Office of Health Promotion’s programs throughout the academic year, promoting mental health and well-being.
The goal of the office is to educate students on where to reach out for health concerns and prevent harmful activities. For more information, visit the third floor of Baker University Center.
