Timothy Chapman
08/28/2023
UTRGV Brownsville student health clinic UTRGV Edinburg student health clinic
photo courtesy Angelica Velasquez Timothy Chapman/Vaquero Radio
On every UTRGV student bill, there is a flat rate medical service fee of $30, with exceptions for those who don’t need to pay for service fees.
The fee pays for the services provided by the UT Health Student Clinic, which is located on the UTRGV Edinburg and Brownsville campuses.
UT Health RGV Student Health Student Marketing Adviser Angelica Velasquez said the clinic is not a high school nurse’s office but also not at the same level of a hospital, instead, it is a great medium in between.
“We provide general medicine as well, blood work, any women’s health services as well, mental health services.” Velasquez said. “We even have our own pharmacy on campus so if they [students] ever need a prescription for antibiotics and such, they can definitely get it on campus as well.”
According to fellow Student Marketing Adviser Michelle Ortiz, following the COVID-19 pandemic, the UT Health Clinic has seen a decline in students taking advantage of the services provided through the medical service fee.
Ortiz said the clinic is trying to come up with ways to implement services and resources that better fit students’ needs.
“We have talked with the directors of maybe getting some survey insight from the students themselves to see why exactly they’re not taking advantage of us,” she said.“Or If they are not aware of us, and there’s any services that we currently don’t have but that they would wish we would provide[we] would entice them to come over.”
Ortiz said making an appointment is a relatively simple task. The clinic usually just takes walk-ins, but it’s never been to the point where it is flooded with students coming in to take advantage of the services, which is their ultimate goal.
“Although I think we should have an online way of making an appointment, we are not able to do that at the moment due to how the system is run in the school,” she said. “ So for now you either have to walk in to make your appointment or just call either the Brownsville campus or the Edinburg campus to make your appointment. It takes no more than five minutes.”
UT Health RGV Student Clinic will be offering 500 free flu shots to students in the upcoming weeks on both campuses.
The clinic is also planning on attending various UTRGV events throughout the semester to get students engaged.
For more information, visit utrgv.edu/health-services/
This is Timothy Chapman for Vaquero Radio.
