After the clinic’s inaugural year, Flathead Valley Community College is ready to push for more students to take advantage of the student health clinic. 

The clinic, a 1,000-square foot facility that is part of the Rebecca Chaney Broussard Center for Nursing and Health Science, had a “soft opening” in early September last year.

On Monday at the college’s board of trustees meeting, Chuck Jensen, college vice president of administration and finance, said the clinic had been a huge success.

“It has been a tremendous partnership with [Kalispell Regional Medical Center],” he said. “You know that we started last year with a soft opening, but this year we are approaching it in a much more aggressive manner.”

Students getting orientation at Flathead Valley Community College are now introduced to the health clinic and all it has to offer. Students taking more than seven credits from the college pay a mandatory $45-per-semester fee that lets them use the clinic during its limited hours.

The clinic is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursdays during the school year. During the summer, the clinic is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday.

Shelley Naomi, a physician assistant at the clinic, spoke about the more than 400 visits the clinic had seen since it opened.

“As you might expect, we have seen a myriad of cases with more than 150 diagnoses,” she said. “I’d say about 98 percent of these students have no insurance. Our big thing is to ensure they can get the care they need.”

The clinic can deal with illnesses such as upper respiratory diseases and fevers, but serious problems such as surgery and infections are referred to urgent care or Kalispell Regional Medical Center. 

Naomi estimates about a quarter of students are referred elsewhere. The rest can be treated in house.

She also said the clinic is only operating at about 60 or 70 percent capacity. Naomi and Jensen are looking to get more students to come to the clinic when they are feeling ill.

“While we have seen a growth in the number of visits, we are still not at full capacity yet,” Naomi said. “So I’ve started speaking at orientations and just been giving students reminders.”

Even with the helpfulness of the clinic, it has not been without controversy. 

An FVCC student, Kirsten Wantaja, protested in March over the mandatory fee, saying costs of education were high enough and students should be able to opt in.

College President Jane Karas walked the middle ground, promising to look into waiving the fee, but stating how important the clinic was to the hundreds of students who have used the clinic. 

Even now, as Jensen and Naomi are looking to expand to full capacity, Karas wanted to ensure the clinic remained just that, a student health clinic and not a doctor’s office.

“We’re not in the business of providing health care,” she said. “We just felt it was more effective to contract through the hospital.”

The clinic treats aches, pains, mild sickness and can evaluate sexual health. 

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.