“Mystery” in the Health Center—the $200 Fee

Health or Wealth? That seems to be a question for some NMH students recently.

By Max Wang ‘25

A few of O’Connor Health Center’s nursing staff, photo by Grace Cummiskey ‘25

Entering the flu season, NMH experienced a surge of flu and COVID—people who test positive need to stay for a period of quarantine time. Recently, rumors went through campus: students staying overnight at the health center must pay a $200 fee per night. For some students, $200 for a night is very expensive. However, is the rumor completely true?

“This rule is in the handbook for the first time this year. I think it’s on page 92.” Dr. Rourke said. In fact, the related rules are on page 94, which requires people to pay a $200 fee for students who stayed in the health center for more than two days(48 hours). Dr. Rourke also mentioned that families should develop an evacuation plan within 48 hours to avoid paying the $200 fee, which is not formally written in the student handbook.

“We don’t ever want there to be a barrier to students coming in to get care if they need care.” When developing this rule, Dr. Rourke explained the school and the health center’s concerns. However, she also explained various reasons for receiving the extra fee. 

“At one point, I think it was last week (the interview was conducted on Sep. 25), we started running out of beds here at the health center. And so we have to be really mindful about that.” Dr. Rourke explained. Besides room shortages, Dr. Rourke also expressed worries about students' physical and mental health when they stayed in the health center for a long time. The extra care like medicine and daily meals, Dr. Rourke said, also explains the $200 fee.

The rumors about the $200 fee are partly true: Students need to pay the $200 fee, but only after staying in the health center for more than 48 hours. This rule is a compromise between the school’s and students’ concerns.