Infirmary treats the ill

Meet the typical Boston College student. He works too hard, stays up too late, drinks too much, and wears flip-flops in the snow. He is a medical disaster waiting to happen.

That's where the infirmary comes in. Nestled in the bottom floor of Cushing Hall, the infirmary staff is poised to treat anything from menstruation to mononucleosis. Genial warmth radiates, and the nurses greet legions of pained students with an unwaveringly comforting bedside manner. It's only a step below the days of chicken soup and mommy.

Yet it is not rare to hear the occasional anti-infirmary rant from students. Long waits for treatment and illness-induced grumpiness can account for some of the griping. One oft-heard complaint is the infirmary's policy of medication distribution.

Jenna Keegan, A&S '06, recalled when she went to infirmary feeling ill and was diagnosed with bronchitis. "They handed me three small manila envelopes with two pills each inside," said Keegan. "How is that going to help me with a lingering illness?" Anya Ioffe, A&S '05, had a similar experience at the infirmary, when she was handed small packets of medication. "I just find it weird that they give out antibiotics in envelopes. Why not bottles?"

Health Services is obliged by Massachusetts law to give out medications in dosages that will only last for two days. In response to complaints about the policy, associate director of nursing Nancy Baker posed a question, "Do you think that if we wrote prescriptions students would be compliant in filling them?" A bus ride to CVS is a hassle, and medication is an expense. But the infirmary offers through an on-campus pharmacist a host of what Director of Health Services Thomas Nary calls the "daily medications of life" - everything to combat the illnesses typically found on a college campus.

This can lead to what Nary thinks is a weakness - an over-distribution of antibiotics. "The biggest complaint we receive in terms of numbers is from students who think they need antibiotics," he said, but Nary believes that the less antibiotics, the better. "Particularly in [the college] age group the vast amount of problems are viral. I think we probably give too many here, and we give fewer than most."

A constant cause for confusion among students is exactly what services are available at the infirmary. "We are not at a hospital level of care," said Baker. Therefore they do not perform X-rays or other kinds of diagnostic care such as CAT scans, set bones, or perform surgery. Specimens and throat cultures can be performed on campus but are processed by an off-campus lab. Additionally, many of the nine physicians who work there, including a surgeon, are affiliated with area hospitals and work as liaisons if needed. While St. Elizabeth's is the hospital most frequented, students have the option of going to any hospital they prefer, be it Beth Israel or Massachusetts General, even in an emergency situation.

Many students who need more advanced medical treatment than the infirmary provides have it performed in a hospital and come back to the infirmary to recuperate. There is a 10-bed inpatient unit where ailing students can make their temporary home. Andrew Vasile, A&S '06, fondly recalled his time there early in the semester. "When I was really sick and was in the infirmary for a week, it was great to know that there are people who really knew what they were doing right there all the time."

For a less serious issue, a patient can walk in and be assisted 24 hours a day, but doctors work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week. Otherwise, nurses run the roost, with doctors just a phone call away.

There are a number of specialized services offered by the infirmary, including an allergy clinic, a diet and nutrition clinic, and an orthopedic clinic, which includes three physicians. While few of the doctors are specialists in adolescent care, they are required to get 50 hours of continuing education a year in their field. The nurses are certified in college healthcare.

Misconceptions about lack of discretion may keep students from visiting the infirmary regarding sexual issues, but their confidentiality is protected by federal law, except in the case of minors.

Drinking-related illnesses are a frequent cause for infirmary visits on the weekends. What many students do not know is that the infirmary cannot contact the police, parents, or any University officials regarding underage drinking (with the possible exception of minors). While Nary said that most patients with alcohol-related symptoms are brought in by the BCPD, students brought in by friends will not be informed upon.

While inebriated students come in throughout the year, Baker said, "Weekends in the fall are busier because of football games and limit-testing by freshmen students who haven't been away from home before." As one might expect, the staff sees freshmen for binge-drinking issues more than any other class. "It's definitely a lack of experience that causes this problem. Freshmen don't know how to drink because it hasn't been part of their social setting before."

Instead of turning students into the authorities, Baker said that the staff works to educate students about the dangers of binge drinking and talks to them about drinking in moderation.

While a raucous crowd inhabits the infirmary Saturday nights, both Baker and Nary are hesitant to classify binge drinking at BC as an epidemic. "I don't think this campus is any different from lots of other campuses," said Nary. In one respect, Nary finds us fortunate "not to have had more tragedies. We are working very hard not to have alcohol-related rapes, deaths, or accidents."