The University of Idaho Student Health Services building is closed due to a pipe replacement project, and students are left without a pharmacy or an on campus physician to start off the academic year.
According to Dr. Steven Fischer, a Moscow physician for Student Health Services, UI students can schedule all doctor appointments through Moscow Family Medicine until the re-piping project is completed in December. Fischer said Moscow Family Medicine and the student health clinic have a contract that allows each clinic to see and treat each
other’s patients.
Most other Student Health Services functions are still located on campus. For example, the student psychiatrist is located in the Counseling and Testing Center.
The Student Health building is one of the oldest buildings on campus and is even listed on the library’s historic register. To maintain the building, UI received a grant last year to help re-pipe the building, which Fischer said is a project that’s long over due.
“Decades-old hot and cold water, sewer pipes and steam pipes that heat the building need to be replaced. They’re basically changing all the piping in the whole building,” he said.
Once the project is complete, Student Health Services will resume in it’s original locations on campus, with the exception of the student pharmacy.
In May, UI decided to close down the student on-campus pharmacy. Greg Tatham, assistant vice provost of Student Affairs, said in April that the decision to close down the pharmacy was made due to increased costs to keep it running and a lack of revenue.
“We felt that students would still have many pharmacies to choose from. We know there’s convenience, but the costs would be redirected towards the students,” Tatham said.
Talk of closing of the pharmacy was brought to the table when the university knew it would have to re-pipe the Student Health building this year.
Tatham stated in April that the pharmacy was also losing clientele to larger pharmacies like Walmart, Rite Aid and Walgreens. Additionally, the Affordable Care Act caused certain prescriptions to become free to the public, which lead to an increase in purchasing costs for UI.
The closing of the pharmacy also led to changes in the Student Health Insurance Plan, known as SHIP. Tatham suggested that students review the terms of their personal insurance plans or SHIP to see where they can pick up their prescriptions in the coming
academic year.
There are no current plans to re-open the pharmacy, Tatham said.
Lori Krasselt, UI’s Student Benefit Specialist, stated in April that students can download their SHIP insurance cards online and print them out to use at off-campus pharmacies.
Students who have questions about their SHIP plan should go to the Idaho Commons, room 406.
In addition to accessing the clinic, UI has many available options for students who are suffering a wide array of health problems. For example, UI has an on-site psychiatrist and campus dietician to assist students in their mental and digestive health.
Danielle Wiley
can be reached at