Guidebook

Health and counseling center

Located in the grey building on the west side of campus just north of 28 West.

Health and Counseling website.

Hours by appointment and walk-in:
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday
limited hours during fall and spring breaks
closed winter and summer breaks.

For counseling-related questions (including drug and alcohol) or for counseling appointments, please call extension 7349 (503-777-7349). The daily walk-in hour for mental health services is 3 to 4 p.m.

For health-related questions or to make an appointment with one of the physicians, nurse practitioners, or nurses, please call extension 7281 (503-777-7281).

For medical advice or information after hours, call our nurse-advice line at 1-800-607-5501.

For urgent psychiatric needs after hours and on weekends, Reed College contracts with ProtoCall, an after-hours help line for students, staffed by professional counselors trained in assessment, stabilization, and in directing students to appropriate resources.  ProtoCall may be accessed via Reed dispatch / community safety: 503-771-1112 or by calling ProtoCall directly at 866-432-1224.

For true medical emergencies, students should call 911 for immediate response.

For more information about health and counseling services, please consult the Health and Counseling website.

Services

Medical services are confidential and most basic services are provided at no cost. There is a fee for any prescriptions or lab work and certain medical supplies, as well as services received delivered via off-campus referrals. Services provided by the Reed medical staff include:

  • emergency care in case of accidents or illness
  • medical treatment for acute illnesses
  • care of sports injuries
  • immunizations
  • testing for sexually transmitted diseases
  • general health and nutritional counseling
  • referrals to area specialists as needed
  • women's health care (annual exams and birth control options)

Professional and confidential counseling services are provided at no cost.

Students use counseling for a variety of personal and academic reasons:

  • to address feelings that interfere with academic and social functioning (anxiety, lack of confidence, loneliness, depression)
  • to examine and identify alternatives to unhealthy patterns (e.g., drug or alcohol dependence, anorexia, obsessive eating)
  • to improve skills (e.g., study and time management skills, learning difficulties, meeting new people)
  • to understand how things in the past continue to affect the present (e.g., incest, rape, physical abuse, a parent's death, a parent's use of alcohol, divorce)
  • to manage problems related to chronic illness
  • to understand and cope with difficulties within one's family and with interpersonal problems to discuss everyday problems and generate supportive assistance

Counseling services are designed to provide crisis intervention and short-term, intermittent, or longer-term treatment as clinically necessary and appropriate. For students who prefer off-campus resources or whose needs exceed our available resources or expertise, the health services staff will help find an appropriate referral.

Insurance and billing

Insurance is required for all students. For students remaining on their parent's policy, it is important to check carefully the nature and extent of the coverage. Reed College offers a policy tailored to help pay medical costs most likely incurred by college students. This policy can be used as a single policy or in conjunction with any policy through a private insurance company. It is important to compare all plans carefully.

The college will automatically bill students who have not signed the insurance waiver card each semester for Reed's health insurance.

Immunization

Public health officials have issued new guidelines for the prevention of measles, and Oregon law requires that all students born after 1957 provide documentation of two doses of measles (MMR) vaccine. In addition to this vaccine, a current tuberculin skin test and updated tetanus are highly recommended. Immunizations are available at the health services center for a fee.

The American College Health Association strongly recommends hepatitis B vaccine for all college students. Vaccination of college-aged students is important, since the risk of HBV transmission is increased in this age group. Your health provider or the health services staff can provide more information.

A partially effective vaccine is available to protect against meningitis. Please contact the Health Service office for more information regarding this vaccine and meningitis.

(Page last modified: November 29, 2023)