40 Hours for the Forty Acres Spring 2023

Who We Are
University Health Services (UHS) is a fully accredited on‐campus medical facility serving UT Austin students.
 
Staff provide healthcare, public health leadership, and other services designed to protect and advance the health of students and support the well-being of the Longhorn community.

Services
 UHS is a comprehensive health service providing students with access to:

• Primary care, including a dedicated urgent care clinic
• Specialty clinics for sports medicine, gynecology services, allergy shots, immunizations, and travel health
• Full‐service physical therapy clinic
• On‐site diagnostic laboratory and radiology services (x‐ray and ultrasound)

Further distinguishing us from community resources, and as a leading university health service, UHS also offers:

• 24‐hour Nurse Advice Line
• STI screening clinic
• Medical nutrition counseling services with two registered dietitians
• Integrated Health Team of mental health counselors who work alongside medical clinic staff
• Enriching student volunteering activities
• On‐campus location and student‐centric philosophy

In its public health leadership role, UHS provides special clinics across campus to immunize thousands of students, faculty, and staff each year and responds to emergent health issues such as outbreaks of contagious illnesses like COVID-19, mumps and influenza.

UHS professional staff work with partners across campus to bolster students’ wellness and safety, whether they are on in Austin or studying abroad. To build a healthier community, UHS works with professionals at the Longhorn Wellness Center and other partners to address priority health and wellness issues such as exercise, sleep habits, stress management, and high‐risk drinking.

Facility
University Health Services occupies over 45,000 sq. ft. spanning the entire 1st and 2nd floors as well as parts of the ground and 3rd floors of the Student Services Building.

Our Fundraising Need

During the 2021-2022 academic year, UHS providers hosted 51,143 visits and served 18,768 unique patients. Consultation and screening services for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) is the one of the most common reasons that students seek services at UHS, with nearly 2,000 visits last academic year for testing alone. Early diagnosis and management are important in reducing the risk of complications from STIs. UHS aims to remove potential barriers to accessing STI screenings, including financial barriers for students who are uninsured or who would prefer not to use their insurance. 

To help, UHS established the “Get Yourself Tested (GYT)” fund in 2018. Students applying to use the fund are evaluated on two criteria – they must be eligible to use University Health Services and also asymptomatic. Additionally, students can only use the fund once per semester. Once accepted, the fund covers the full cost of STI testing at UHS, including the $10 office visit fee and any necessary confirmatory testing. 

Even with little advertising of this service, GYT funds are quickly exhausted each year. Historically, 57% of students who used the GYT fund were tested for STIs for the first time.

In a follow up survey from March 2020, students reported high levels of satisfaction with both the GYT fund and UHS.

• 95.6% would apply for the GYT fund again
• 97.8% would recommend the GYT fund to a friend
• 97.8% would return to UHS for care in the future

The GYT program is not budgeted annually, so once the fund is exhausted, there are no university funds to provide free STI testing for students. UHS recognizes how critical these funds are to ensure a student’s access to important healthcare.
 
Your Impact
Your gift made to the GYT fund will keep this vital resource available to our students who are most in need.