Student Wellness Services to Open Evening Clinic in September 2016

April 29, 2016

KINGSTON, ON – Today, Kanivanan Chinniah, Kyle Beaudry, and Sarah Letersky, the AMS Executive, issued the following statement:

“We are happy to announce that we have achieved an agreement in principle to extend evening clinic hours at Student Wellness Services, starting September 2016.

“Student Wellness Services will open in the evenings, on a walk-in basis, from 4:30pm to 7:30pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The University will also consider the addition of a Mental Health Nurse for those hours.

“Under this regime, students will be able to see a medical professional on the same day and this change will also come at no additional cost for students. Further details will be released after specific arrangements have been made.

“As we end our time in the AMS, we are reminded that the AMS can achieve good outcomes for students when it creatively tries to do better with the resources we have, not necessarily asking for more, in an honest and cordial partnership with the University and other stakeholders.”

QUICK FACTS

• The AMS conducted a survey in the fall of 2015 which served to investigate student experience with SWS – formerly Health, Counseling, and Disability Services (HCDS) – which received 620 responses.
• 53% of students surveyed indicated that the hours of operation of the SWS walk-in clinic did not meet their needs at the time of the survey.
• 80% of the suggestions for improved hours of operation were for later hours on weekdays.
• After initially meeting with SWS and Queen’s Administration, SWS agreed to hold a trial evening walk-in clinic on Thursdays for the majority of the winter semester.
• These changes result from the assertion of the AMS to make substantial changes to SWS following the data that was collected in a robust student survey conducted last fall.
• This outcome illustrates another example of the continuing and successful trend of data-backed advocacy.
• Students pay a $3.75 mandatory fee for the Evening Health Clinic. These changes will be achieved within the bounds of that student fee, and will not result in any increases to costs for students.

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Please direct all media inquiries to Jessamine Luck, AMS Marketing & Communications Officer, at or (613) 533-6000 x75850

BACKGROUNDER
Alma Mater Society (AMS) – http://www.myams.org

The central undergraduate student government at Queen’s University, the AMS represents over 16,000 students and is the oldest student government in Canada. The constituency is represented through 10 faculty and residence societies. The AMS Council, which is made up of a three-person executive, six commissioners, and three directors, oversees all day-to-day activities within the Society, including 10 corporate services and over 50 government committees that address virtually all matters of student life at Queen’s.