Ohio State Undergraduate Student Government members are debating whether or not MyNurseLine will return next year.
MyNurseLine is a 24-hour medical advice hotline, staffed by registered nurses and funded by USG and the Office of Student Affairs. It was implemented in September and is prepaid through August.
“We are happy people are using it, but by no means is this considered a success in our minds,” said Kate Christobek, USG president.
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For the first time, statistics regarding the nurse line were released by the nurse line’s operator, CHD Meridian Healthcare, on Friday. Christobek said the data showed that each call is costing more than $30.
“The cost benefit analysis is out of control,” said Stephen Smith, USG senate parliamentarian.
And with CHD Meridian pressing for a decision by March, USG has less than a month left to decide the fate of the nurse line, Christobek said.
Recent data revealed that in the four-month period from September to December, close to 600 calls were made to the nurse line, according to the data released by CHD Meridian. The program cost $56,000 for a full year, so if this trend in the volume of calls continues, each call will average $33.
Smith, who originally voted against the nurse line last year, said he is not surprised so few people are calling in. He thinks the nurse line is not successful because there are already programs like it available.
The Wilce Student Health Center offers free nurse advice during the day, most health insurance companies already provide a medical hotline and WebMD is an easy and accessible means of diagnosing one’s symptoms, he said.
Even if a considerable number of people were utilizing the nurse line, the ability to finance it year after year would pose a problem for USG. Student Affairs and the Student Health Center would need to assist USG in the funding, said Pete Steele, USG vice president.
With such a low volume of callers, Christobek predicts Student Affairs and other would-be financial supporters will rule that the nurse line is not important enough to help fund it next year.
“The nurse line was sponsored by an individual who, once it passed, did little to support the program,” Christobek said. “Myself and Pete didn’t initially support it because we wanted other ways to pay for it and a plan for the future.”
Now that the future has arrived, USG lacks a strategy on how to maintain the nurse line.
“We predicted we were going to be in this situation,” Steele said.
The next few weeks will be spent reviewing the USG budget to see how much money is left and to determine if it is worth spending on the nurse line again, Christobek said.
Smith thinks USG money should be spent on something else.
“A better way to treat student health would be more proactive preventative programs and a focus on healthier lifestyles,” he said.
Despite the low number of callers, USG senator Adam Rosen, who voted for the nurse line last year, still believes it to be a positive service for students because it provides medical advice outside of the Student Health Center’s office hours and it can help connect students to the right doctor.
Since USG has already invested a large sum of money in the nurse line, Christobek said she plans to continue to market it. Within the next week, she said students will be receiving a mass e-mail with information about the nurse line.
If the number of callers increases significantly as a result of this e-mail, Steele said USG might consider salvaging it.
Cara Shirley can be reached at [email protected].
