Barnard College Barnard College
Primary Care Health Services

What We Offer & Services

Fall 2023 Information:

  • Starting Monday, August 28th, PCHS will be open for all clinical services for all enrolled Barnard students.

  • You can reach PCHS at our office number 212-854-2091 during business hours. 

  • PCHS hours are:

    • Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 5:00 pm

    • Our office is closed every Tuesday 12PM to 1:30PM for a Staff Meeting. 

    • PCHS Clinical hours are 9:30am to 4:00pm on Monday through Friday.

  • There are no walk-in appointments at PCHS.  You will need to call to make any type of appointment to be seen

  • For those urgent or potentially dangerous medical situations that cannot wait until Primary Care re-opens, telephone advice is available after hours. The after hours clinician on call, Fonemed, is only available after PCHS operating hours for enrolled students.

  • For after-hours emergencies (after business hours & weekends), call the Clinician on Call. This number is NOT to report a +COVID test result, inquire about health forms, make an appointment at PCHS, or to find out about hours of operation and location of PCHS.  The Clinician on Call can be reached at 1-855-622-1903. Please see the links below for information.

During the academic year, our comprehensive clinical services include assessment and treatment of acute and chronic illness, gynecological visits, health education, contraception and pregnancy counseling, nutrition counseling, allergy treatments, vaccinations, a dispensary for medications, a 24/7 emergency clinician-on-call during the academic year and, when indicated, referral to off-campus specialists.

We are not currently offering allergy shot appointments, but will begin offering allergy shots in coming semesters. 

For more information, please see our Appointment Types page.

All of your personal health information is kept strictly confidential and is not released to anyone without your request or consent.

Fees:
While there is no fee for visiting the Primary Care Health Service, regardless of insurance, you may be charged for some medications, vaccines and tests and for missed appointments. For more information, please see our Fees page.

How to Submit Documentation (Students only)
Documentation should be uploaded into Open Communicator as per these instructions. Students who were vaccinated at PCHS do not need to take any further action.

How to Get a Flu Vaccination 

  • Everyone ages 6 mos and older can get a flu shot.
  • Flu vaccines can be administered at the same time as COVID-19 vaccines, including boosters.
  • To find a vaccination site near you, you can use New York City’s Vaccine Finder or the Vaccine.gov webpage.

COVID-19 vaccination will help protect you from getting COVID-19. You may have some side effects, which are normal signs that your body is building protection. These side effects may affect your ability to do daily activities, but they should go away in a few days. Many people have no side effects at all.

Common Side Effects

At the Site of the Injection

 • Pain

 • Redness 

• Swelling 

Throughout the Rest of Your Body:

 • Tiredness

 • Headache 

• Muscle pain

 • Chills

 • Fever

 • Nausea

Helpful Tips 

If you have pain or discomfort after getting your vaccine, it is generally safe to use an over-the-counter medicine, such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen. 

To reduce pain and discomfort where you got the shot:

 • Apply a clean, cool, wet washcloth over the area.

 • Use or exercise your arm. 

To reduce discomfort from fever:

 • Drink plenty of fluids.

 • Dress lightly.

In most cases, discomfort from fever or pain is normal. 

Contact PCHS or a Healthcare Provider: 

• If the redness or tenderness where you got the shot increases after 24 hours 

• If your side effects are worrying you or do not seem to be going away after a few days 

Please see these CDC links for more detailed information:

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Updates on Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine  
The "pause" on the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 Vaccine has been lifted by the FDA and CDC following a thorough safety review. The pause was recommended after reports of six cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals who received the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine.

After an extensive review of all available data and consultation with medical experts the two agencies have determined that the J&J vaccine is safe and effective in preventing COVID 19, that the available data show the vaccine's known and potential benefits outweigh it's known and potential risks in individuals 18 and older and that use of the J&J vaccine should be resumed in the United states.

This pause was an indication of just how cautious the CDC is being about oversight of the safety of these vaccines, that they paused the distribution of a vaccine because of a side effect that occurred literally in one in a million cases. The Moderna and the Pfizer vaccines have not demonstrated any increased risk of blood clots.

For more information please see this CDC Fact Sheet for Recipients and Caregivers, which includes information about receiving the J&J vaccine.

And please see this CDC link for more detailed information about the lifting of the pause: 

FDA and CDC Lift Recommended Pause on Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 Vaccine Use Following Thorough Safety Review

 

 

Our care encompasses a wide range of general services, with a particular emphasis on the developmental needs of college-aged individuals.

Please see our Appointment Types page for information about the types of appointments offered at the PCHS.

To schedule an appointment, please call Primary Care at 1-212-854-2091.

Individual virtual nutrition counseling is available to all Barnard students with our Registered Dietitian / Nutritionist. 

An appointment with the nutritionist is an opportunity to learn more about healthy eating, to discuss food allergies and sensitivities, to create plans for navigating the cafeteria or your own kitchen, and to address any eating concerns.

Please call Primary Care at 1-212-854-2091 to schedule an appointment with the nutritionist.

 

The PCHS maintains a list of specialists in NYC. For a referral, call Primary Care at 1-212-854-2091 to make a referral appointment.

All referrals must be obtained before the visit to the specialist!

The Primary Care Health Service provides affirming, safe, trauma-informed, and inclusive healthcare for all patients. As part of this mission, we provide comprehensive patient-centered medical care to transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals. 

We partner with each patient to create individualized treatment plans specific to their goals and priorities. For those seeking hormonal treatment for gender affirmation, we offer initiation, ongoing management, and supportive services (e.g., assisting with self-injection of hormones). We collaborate closely with our colleagues at Furman Counseling Center and trans-serving community groups to foster community building and provide ongoing support. For those interested in surgical care, we collaborate with trusted community partners to ensure linkage to further specialized care. All treatment plans are in accordance with the WPATH Standards of Care for TGD persons. 

PCHS also has built a network of resources for trans and gender-diverse students within NYC and at Barnard to facilitate community building. Barnard College's student health insurance, through Aetna Student Health, provides hormonal and surgical healthcare coverage according to their outlined benefits. For those with another form of insurance, we work closely with you to review the best options available so that cost is not a limiting factor to treatment. 

Trans Health Services Include:

  • Primary and Preventive Care

  • Chest/Breast Health

  • Hormone Treatment

  • Pelvic Wellness Exams; PAP Tests

  • Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Screenings & Treatment

  • HIV/AIDS Testing

  • Guidance on safe binding and tucking

  • Referrals to gender-confirming surgeons and vocal therapists

Primary Care offers a number of vaccines to Barnard students, available by appointment.

All Barnard students are required to provide documentation of immunity to measles, mumps and rubella before coming to campus. The meningococcal meningitis vaccine is not required, but is strongly recommended and can be received at PCHS.

Other available vaccines, including many recommended for travel abroad, include:

  • Flu Vaccine
  • Hepatitis A Vaccine
  • Hepatitis B Vaccine
  • HPV Vaccine
  • Meningitis ACYW and B Vaccine
  • MMR Vaccine
  • Pneumovax Vaccine
  • Polio Vaccine
  • Td Vaccine
  • Tdap Vaccine
  • Typhoid Vaccine

All vaccines are free for students with Aetna Student Health Insurance.

For students with outside insurance, there will be a charge at the time of the appointment, but reimbursement may be available depending on your outside insurance. Please call the office at 1-212-854-2091 and ask to speak to our Director of Operations, Elliot Wasserman, with any questions.

If students and or family members are considering end of life advanced directive forms, the Health Services division follows the New York State Guidelines.

If you are looking to establish a heath proxy, please click here for the Health Care Proxy Form.

Once you have reviewed this information, if you have any additional questions or concerns please contact MJ Murphy, Executive Director of Student Health and Wellness at mmurphy@barnard.edu.