Page 2
THE BATTALION
FRIDAY, FEB. 6, 1976
Your health...
3 medical centers
compared in service
By MARK PENNY
Battalion Staff Writer
The rising cost of living is causing
more and more students to question
whether they’re getting their
money’s worth from required stu
dent fees.
The Battalion compared the fees
and facilities of Texas A&M’s Beutel
Health Center with those of the Uni
versity of Texas at Austin and Texas
Tech University.
Beutel has an in-patient capacity
of 44 beds. This may not sound
adequate for a school with 25,000
students but during the peak flu sea
son last semester the number of hos
pitalized students reached only 31.
In fact, said Mrs. Mary F. Gough,
Coordinator of Nursing Services, the
monthly average is usually 15-20
people with an average stay of 1-2
days. The $14 per semester health
fee allows a student to stay in the
hospital for up to ten days without
cost. Board students’ meals are re
funded by their respective dining
halls and other students are charged
$1 a meal.
The staff at Beutel includes four
full time doctors, thirteen nurses,
two X-ray technicians, three lab
technicians and a part-time psychol
ogist. Weekly visits are also made by
an orthopedic surgeon, a
gynecologist, two general surgeons
and two radiologists. Students in
need of a urologist are referred to his
private office.
It is not unusual for a doctor to see
50-60 patients a day, said Gough. On
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busy days that number may increase
to 100. Gough estimated out-patient
treatment at 8-9,000 students a
month.
The Health Center does not pro
vide for any type of major surgery. If
surgery is necessary, the student is
sent to a local hospital and he as
sumes the financial responsibility for
it.
In an emergency situation, local
ambulance service can be arranged
by the Health Center without charge
provided the Center is contacted
first.
If a very serious problem arises
that can not be taken care of at a
College Station or Bryan hospital,
the services of a MAST helicopter
from Fort Hood is available said Dr.
Claude B. Goswick Jr., director of
the Health Center. This helicopter is
provided free of charge by the Army
and is available in any kind of
weather, day or night. Patients can
be picked up at the drill field and
flown to the needed medical center.
Goswick said the service was used
twice last semester involving stu
dents with head injuries.
Besides hospital care the student
health fee provides as many clinic
visits as needed, most diagnostic ex
aminations, all medications available
in the pharmacy, X-rays and most
laboratory tests.
Student fees provide for only 8C
per cent of these services. The other
20 per cent is generated by the hos
pital, largely by performing physi
cals for on-campus employment
agencies and the military services.
The student Health Center at the
University of Texas is a frilly accre
dited medical facility which includes
a hospital unit, an out-patient clinic,
an operating suite, a laboratory, a
pharmacy and physical therapy and
radiology department.
Although Texas has 30,000 more
students than A&M they have only
11 more beds in their center. Sur
prisingly with this many potential
patients, the monthly average is 15
and the fall peak reached 35, said Dr.
PaulTrickett, director of the Student
Health Clinic. UT students are cov
ered for fourteen days of hospitaliza
tion through student fees.
The Austin facility has the benefit
of a larger staff. Included are
twenty-two full time doctors, seven
part-time doctors, thirty-five nurses,
four X-ray technicians, nine lab
technicians, six pharmacists and a
number of residential surgeons and
specialists.
Out-patient treatments often
reach 15,000 a month. Students
must make appointments with
physicians in person or by tele
phone. Emergencies can be at
tended to at any time, said Trickett.
Students at the University of
Texas must pay about $22 each
semester for their medical care. This
includes a $15 health fee and a $4
hospital fee. The remainder comes
from the student services fee. Stu
dent fees account for 91 per cent of
the hospital budget.
Diagnostic X-rays, orthopedic
appliances and prescriptions are not
covered by the fees. However, stu
dents are charged for these items at a
discount.
The Texas Tech University School
of Medicine operates the Student
Health service on its campus. In
patient medical care is not provided
for Tech’s 22,000 students, said Mrs.
Edith M. Cruse, nursing coordinator
for the Student Health Service. If
hospitalization is needed, one of the
local general hospitals is available.
The Health Service does have two
holding beds for students waiting to
be transferred.
The $9 health fee covers clinical
visits, allergy injections (not medica
tions), normal lab work and X-rays.
Students must fill their own pre
scriptions, which can be done at the
Health Service pharmacy.
CALL FOR INFORMATION NOW
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Branches m Maior U.S. Cities
A
Students wait turns to
visit a doctor or receive
treatment from nurses
in Beutel Health Center.
Diuijijwige,
Heigh
uch
Staff at the Tech center involves
three full time doctors, one part time
doctor and eight nurses. The phar
macy, laboratory, physical therapy
and X-ray services are provided by
the staff of the medical school. Cases
requiring the services of other
specialists are referred to the faculty
of the Clinical Teaching Facility or to
community physicians. These
people care for the 8,500 outpatients
a month.
Cheryl Coman receives
treatment from Beutel
Health Center nurse
Mary McDonough.
Panel proposes expansion
of A&M employe benefits
sail
l)il 'Ageies
leave
Expanded life insurance and vehi
cle coverage may be in the offing if
the administration approves the
suggestions of the Personnel Policy
and Employe Benefits Committee.
Bruce Miles, associate director of
the Texas Forest Service, is chair
man of the 27-member advisory
committee.
The group suggested that em
ployes have the option to acquire
additional life insurance for thefr de
pendents.
The proposed option would allow
a wife one-half the amount her hus
band is insured for up to a maximum
of $5,000. The proposal would bene
fit either spouse employed by A&M.
Under the same plan eligible chil
dren could be covered for $1,000.
The committee also decided that
the university should pick up the tab
for insuring drivers of university ve
hicles. Drivers given permission to
use a vehicle by an authorized official
would be covered under a group pol
icy paid for by the A&M.
The committee discussed the pos
sibility of insuring a driver transport
ing students on a field trip and de
cided that the driver would be cov
ered by the group policy only if in a
university vehicle.
If an employe were in his own car,
then he would be liable under his
family policy.
In additional discussion the com
mittee talked about such improve
ments as allowing part-time em
ployes to enroll in university insur
ance policies.
Dental coverage was mentioned as
was accidental-death and dismem-
Today in history
Associated Press
Today is Friday, Feb. 6, the
37th day of 1976. There are 329
days left in the year.
On this date:
In 1778, France recognized
the independence of the United
States.
In 1788, Massachusetts be
came the sixth state to ratify the
U.S. Constitution.
In 1964, Cuba cut off the
normal water supply to the
jourm;
Bitrie:
Stags. I
vith ma
nany coi
oirnals
inguistk
berment coverage for dependSnals i
suggestion to increase theaffllnmu
the Optional Life InsuiancePife pt '
also reviewed. Bn rei
'Jam. f
Plans are also being made® 1 ' 8 *
committee to initiate an ti ■ ai T "
recognition award. At thenes BPtior
ing of the committee, outline? §ded.
set, and various types of aw I
such as pins, certificatesandf fj 011 ™
— will be reviewed. ftrests
— KathjH,,’ “ 1
ng, an<
ial MS
BCosn
Iregulai
American naval base at GB C0 . nt
tanamo Bay in Cuba. B uo c
Ten years ago: The UrfltwM
States disclosed it had (In Ascien
3,(X)0 tons of bombs on ft Anartis
Vietnam in the yearsinceb
ings began.
Five years ago: The 1
Apollo 14 astronauts wereijl
paring to head for homeiB
spending more thanSOhouiB^gg
the moon.
MEMBKR.
Cbe Battalion
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are tnose of the editor or
oj t c writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the
university administration or the Board of Regents. The Battal
ion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise operated by stu
dents as a university and community newspaper. Editorial
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The Battalion, a student newspaper at Texas A&M, is published®
Station, Texas, daily except Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and holidaypW
tember through May, and once a week during summer school. 1
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Tetters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are
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Address: The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, Coll®
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dispatched credited to it or not otherwise credited in the paperandk 0 !
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herein are also reserved.
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o / '7 f ^ ,x vs corres P on dence to Listen Up, The Battalion, Room
217 • Servi ces Building, College Station, Texas 77843.
°!^ he , i tU i ent P ”Nations Board are: Bob C. Rogers, Chairman; Dr.'
To^n ; r , J ; ,t,n R °K er P - Miller; Dr. Clinton A. Phillips, Jeff Dunn,
lom Dawsey and Jerri Ward.
Director of Student Publications: Gael L. Cooper.
Editor
Managing Editor
News Editor
City Editor
Contributing Editors ....
Sports Editor
Photo Director
Staff Writers
Carolyn Blosser, Ray Daniels, Pat Edmondson, Tony Callucci,
Lee Roy Leschper, Jerry Needham, Mark Penny
. J.inT '■
Sandy Russo. '
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DouM
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