If you're feeling a little clammy this week, you're not alone.
Medical Director Kent Bullis reported a 31 percent increase in health center visits this January compared to last year. This year's count of about 26,000 students is a 7,500 increse from last year.
The staff at the Amelia T. Wood Health Center keep track of the number of students they see per month. But as far as a weekly report, Bullis said the number of visitors seemed about average this week.
"Mondays are always busy, but it has not been especially busy since then," he said. "That might be because students are leaving early for Spring Break."
Flu season was from October to January, but he started seeing more students with flu symptoms again two weeks ago. He used to ask professors to keep track of the number of students out of class due to the virus, but it was hard to keep track of the numbers, he said.
"Even when the flu was on everyone's mind, there was no surveillance on campus."
Students say they visit the health center for a variety of reasons and services on campus are more convenient than going home or to the local hospital.
Sophomore Spencer Plunkett dislocated his right shoulder about two weeks ago and has come in every Wednesday for physical therapy. He said he did not see eye to eye with his previous therapist but he has not had any problems at Ball State's health center.
"They're timely, at least when I've dealt with them," the entrepreneurship major said. "They're always nice to me, which I like."
Alyssa Allyn, junior creative writing major, had her right ovary removed in December.
"The doctor I was going to in my hometown was really crappy and they weren't doing anything," she said. "And I came to the health center and Jennifer Davis, the nurse practitioner, got a lot of stuff done and got me help."
Allyn came in on Thursday to drop off a couple of thank you cards to one of the practitioners and a nurse.
"They're just really nice," Allyn said. "They're actually concerned if you're healthy and if you're getting the care you need, so that's really nice."
While Plunkett and Allyn had been coming in on a regular basis, sophomore Jack Gray said he does not go to the health center very often. He did say, though, that he is happy with their services when he does come.
"It was friendly and it wasn't too busy," Gray said. "I thought it would be a lot busier."
He added that going to the health center on campus was more convenient than going to Ball Memorial Hospital.
When he came in on Thursday to have a tuberculosis test read, Gray said he only had to wait about five to 10 minutes.
"I live rather far away so it's a lot easier to just hop over to this health center as opposed to going to the docctor back home," he said.
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