Treatments and Services

Student Health Services offers a wide range of treatments and services. Student Health Services is an experienced medical team committed to providing responsive, confidential, and high-quality care for Colgate’s diverse student community.

Receiving Care

Visits and care provided by nurses and providers at Colgate Student Health Services (SHS) are at no cost to full-time, active students. When in-house testing is performed, or medications or immunizations are administered at SHS, a charge will be assessed for those tests or treatments and charged to the student's account.

Services Offered

We offer a variety of primary care and acute care services, including help with illnesses, infections, injuries, chronic health issues, medication management, and more.

General Health

Student Health Services recognizes the strong connection between individual wellbeing, a healthy campus environment, and student success. Student Health Services is a team of experienced medical professionals committed to providing responsive, confidential, and high-quality care to Colgate’s diverse student community.

Specializing in the treatment and care of college students, the department offers a wide range of services to address your medical needs. Please feel free to approach the team with any medical issue or question you may have.

Allergies

Allergy Injections

If you have started allergy injections with your home doctor/allergist, you may schedule a consultation with SHS to continue receiving allergy injections on campus. Allergy injections are administered by a staff nurse, typically twice a week by appointment only.

Epi-pen Prescriptions
A student's home provider may send the prescription to a local pharmacy for filling. Alternatively, a student may schedule an appointment with Student Health Services to determine whether an EpiPen prescription is appropriate. 

Allergist Referrals
Student Health Services can refer students to regional allergists. Please note that there are limited regional resources for allergies. 

Food Allergies
Contact our registered dietitian if you have questions or concerns regarding food allergies, and navigating the dining halls.

Chronic Conditions

Student Health Services SHS can help support students with chronic medical conditions such as fibromyalgia,  inflammatory bowel disease, immunosuppressive disorders or treatments, migraine, rheumatologic conditions, and more by working collaboratively with their home providers.

If you have a chronic physical or mental health condition that will require ongoing care management or coordination while on campus, contact Student Health Services to discuss available resources.

Dental and Eye Health

Dental Health
Student Health Services can assess if medical intervention will help students with acute dental needs including pain management or antibiotics, and can refer students to local dental services when appropriate.

Eye and Vision Health
Student Health Services can perform DMV-required vision exams and assess concerns about acute red, itchy, or painful eyes. If further evaluation is required SHS can refer students to local eye care providers.
 

Dietary Support and Nutrition

Our on-campus dietitian can help you navigate the dining halls and is a resource for those with nutrition-related questions or concerns regarding:

  • chronic conditions (eg: diabetes, celiac disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis)
  • food allergies
  • religious dietary needs
  • dietary preferences (eg: vegan, vegetarian)
  • athletic performance
  • disordered eating/eating disorders
  • general nutrition

 

Lab Services
  • Student Health Services (SHS) can perform some lab testing on-site. 
  • Charges for in-house testing will be discussed with the student before the test is performed.
  • SHS does not bill insurance for testing performed in the office. 
  • Lab testing sent to another lab to be performed or tested, whether the sample is obtained at SHS or through CMH or another lab, will be billed to the student’s insurance.
  • If a student prefers to pay out of pocket for lab testing sent to another lab, they need to notify SHS so appropriate arrangements can be made and students can be informed of the anticipated cost. 
Medication and Pharmacies

Student Health Services stocks a select group of commonly used prescription and over-the-counter medications, which are available to students only after an appointment with a medical professional. While some medications are available to students at no cost, a limited selection of commonly prescribed medications can be purchased when prescribed by an SHS clinician.

Prescription Medications
Student Health Services cannot fill prescriptions written by outside providers. We suggest bringing enough medication to last the semester or having your physician arrange for ongoing medications with an area pharmacy. For your convenience, with an established account, a local pharmacy can deliver prescriptions for pick up at Student Health Services.  

Hamilton Pharmacies
(Delivers to Student Health Services)

Kinney Drugs 
103 Utica Street
Hamilton, NY 
315-824-2200-please call for vaccinations or make an online vaccination appointment.

Dougherty Pharmacy
1017 Madison Marketplace
Hamilton, NY 
315-825-9800-please call for vaccinations

Other area pharmacies

(Do not deliver to Student Health Services)

CVS (14 miles)
268 Sanger Avenue
Waterville, NY
315-841-4447

Walgreens (20 miles)
95 Nelson Street
Cazenovia, NY
315-655-4450

Walmart (22 miles)
2024 Genesee Street
Oneida, NY
315-361-1037

Mental and Psychiatric Health

Student Health Services (SHS) works closely with Counseling and Psychological Services to provide coordinated mental health services. In collaboration with the Counseling Center and the University’s consulting psychiatry service, SHS offers monitored support for students' psychiatric medication management.

Visit the Counseling Center to learn more about counseling services or to schedule an appointment.

Sexual and Reproductive Health

We offer affirming and non-judgmental sexual and reproductive health services to students of all genders, sexual orientations, and sexual identities. This includes:

  • Contraception services
  • Pregnancy testing
  • LGBTQ+ and gender-affirming care
  • Sexually transmitted infection prevention, testing, and treatment
  • Women's health
  • Men's health

 

Learn more about our sexual and reproductive health services

Travel Consultations

Student Health Services (SHS) provides travel consultations tailored to students’ particular itineraries for travel outside the country, whether for study-abroad programs or personal travel.  SHS staff is well-prepared to address medical questions about traveling abroad and can discuss any required or recommended immunizations and medications to ensure a safe travel experience.  

SHS can provide some immunizations; others must be administered by a specialized travel health provider. Students are responsible for the cost of these immunizations, though Colgate's student health insurance plan typically covers the cost of immunizations provided by SHS.

SHS recommends that students schedule a travel consultation appointment at least six to eight weeks before departure, as some vaccinations should be administered more than one month prior to travel.

Vaccines and Immunizations

Important Information

  • Student Health Services (SHS) can administer many common immunizations on-site.
  • Charges for immunizations are discussed with the student before giving the immunization.
  • SHS does not bill insurance for immunizations dispensed in the office.**
  • If a student receives an immunization at SHS, they may, upon request, receive a printed receipt for the immunization and the associated charge so they can submit a claim to their insurance for reimbursement. 
  • SHS can guide students in submitting a claim to their insurance, but students or their families must submit the claims.

**Exception for billing of immunizations to insurance: Any student enrolled in the Colgate Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) has coverage for immunizations, and SHS will bill the SHIP for the cost of immunizations. The cost to the student for immunizations with the SHIP is $0 out of pocket.

Student Health Services offers the following routine and travel immunizations:

  • Influenza
  • Meningitis B (Bexsero)
  • Gardasil (HPV vaccine)
  • Hepatitis A
  • Hepatitis B
  • Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
  • Meningococcal (ACWY)
  • Polio (IPV)
  • Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis (Tdap)
  • Typhoid Fever
  • Varicella (Chickenpox)

*Students will be charged for the cost of the immunization only; there is no charge for administering the vaccine.  

If you have housing, dietary, academic, or other accommodation needs please contact the Office of Student Disability Services.

Our Approach

The Student Health Services (SHS) medical team is experienced in working with college-aged students with diverse backgrounds and experiences.

It can, at times, be challenging for college students learn to both manage their own healthcare and also to adapt to a new primary care physician. We understand this and therefore welcome all students to approach us with any medical issues or questions. When visiting SHS, it is important to be open with the medical staff about your medical history, the medications you are taking (including any supplements), any needs or concerns you may have, and any other healthcare providers with whom you are working. We encourage you to openly share with us your sexual health history so they can provide you with the best possible care. Student Health Services is a confidential resource and your health information is private and treated with the utmost respect and confidentiality.

Confidentiality statement
  • Health and Wellness (H&W) and Sports Medicine (SM) staff (athletic trainers and physicians) maintain confidentiality in accordance with the ethical guidelines and legal requirements of their profession. Your health records are maintained in an Electronic Health Record (EHR) and are considered treatment records under FERPA. These records are completely separate from all other Colgate University records and your educational records. Health and Wellness staff may receive information from other offices on campus as part of their role as consultants on campus. Health and Wellness staff and SM staff will not share information about any patient outside of their care team without their written permission, except under the following circumstances:
    A patient presents as a serious danger to themself or another person;
  • A patient is under 18 years of age and discloses abuse or neglect to a clinical provider;
  • A patient discloses that a minor child, dependent adult, or elderly person is currently at risk for abuse or neglect;
  • A Colgate student seeks care at Community Memorial Hospital, another hospital, or an urgent care center, and that provider requests information, SHS will share relevant health information as needed for continuity of care.
  • A valid subpoena is issued on a patient's records, or a patient's records are otherwise subject to a court order or other legal process requiring disclosure;
  • As required by federal or New York State Public Health law.

 

Note for Division 1 Athletes receiving care through the Sports Medicine staff
This confidentiality applies to sports-related illness and injury only. If a student discloses information to a Sports Medicine staff member that is not specifically associated with a sports-related injury or illness, the Sports Medicine staff may be legally required to report this information (e.g., report of assault or sexual assault).

If any of the above exceptions are true, SHS staff will only disclose the necessary, relevant clinical information based on their profession's ethical guidelines and legal requirements. SHS staff will notify the patient appropriately of this disclosure as soon as possible.

Patient rights
  1. Be treated with respect, dignity and consideration without discrimination as to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or veteran status.  
  2. Be treated with consideration, respect, and dignity, including privacy in treatment;
  3. Be informed of the services available at the center;
  4. Be informed of the provisions for off-hour emergency coverage;
  5. Be informed of your options for providers and request a change in provider understanding that this may require you to reschedule your appointment.
  6. Know the names, credentials, and positions of the staff working with you;
  7. Receive an estimate of the amount that you will be billed after services are rendered, and receive an itemized copy of your account statement upon request;
  8. Obtain from your provider or the provider's delegate complete and current information concerning your diagnosis, treatment (including possible side effects and risks), and prognosis in terms a patient can be reasonably expected to understand;
  9. Participate in your healthcare planning and consent by accepting all or part of treatments offered or refusing all or part of treatments
  10. Request a medical chaperone in the exam room if the exam may be of a sensitive nature.
  11. Receive information from your provider or the provider's delegate necessary to give informed consent before starting any nonemergency procedure or treatment.
    1. Informed consent shall include, as a minimum, the provision of information concerning the specific procedure or treatment, the reasonably foreseeable risks involved, and alternatives for care or treatment, if any, to allow the patient to make a knowledgeable decision;
  12. Refuse treatment to the extent permitted by law and to be fully informed of the medical consequences of that action;
  13. Refuse to participate in research if and when it is being conducted at the Health Center and/or through Sports Medicine;
  14. Voice grievances and recommend changes in policies and services to the Health Center without fear of reprisal;
  15. Express complaints about the care and services provided and have the center investigate such complaints.
  16. Privacy and confidentiality of all information and records pertaining to your treatment;
  17. Approve or refuse the release or disclosure of the contents of your medical record to any provider or the provider's delegate and/or healthcare facility except as required by law or third-party payment contract or necessary to safeguard you or the university community;
  18. Authorize or refuse family members and other adults who may have access to your confidential medical information;
  19. Have access to information about Advance Directives (https://www.health.ny.gov/community/advance_care_planning/ )
  20. Language translation services.
Patient responsibilities
  1. Provide the Student Health Center and/or Sports Medicine staff with accurate information about past immunizations, illnesses, injuries, hospitalizations, medications, including over-the-counter products and dietary supplements, and any allergies or sensitivities.
  2. Inform the Student Health Center and/or Sports Medicine staff of any changes in health status that could affect treatment.
  3. Follow the prescribed treatment plan, ask questions if you do not understand the directions or treatment given by a provider, discuss any desired changes in the treatment plan, and participate in your care.
  4. Notify your provider if the treatment plan no longer works for you.
  5. Inform your provider about any living will, medical power of attorney, or other directive that could affect your care.
  6. Treat those giving them care, as well as other patients, with dignity and respect.
  7. Accept personal financial responsibility for any charges not covered by your insurance.
  8. Keep appointments and arrive on time.
  9. Cancel appointments only when necessary and far enough in advance so that other patients might utilize that time.
  10. Be respectful of others' privacy and property while in the Health Center and/or Sports Medicine facilities.
  11. Not take actions that could harm themselves or others.
  12. Let the Health Center know about changes in contact information or insurance information.
  13. Report any adverse side effects of treatment and/or worsening of your condition.