Our Services

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Office Visits

At Health Services, we strive to take care of our students as whole people. Students can visit our office as often as needed throughout the academic year while enrolled at Bard College. We take care of a wide variety of medical needs, including acute care, reproductive health, sexual health, gender-affirming care and referrals to other on-campus support services or off-campus specialists. We operate on an appointment-only basis, but will make room for urgent injuries or other issues needing immediate attention as needed. Students can make appointments by calling (845) 758-7433 during business hours or online via the Student Health Portal. Please see other sections below for specific services offered.  

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Medication

At Student Health Services, we maintain a dispensary stocked with common over the counter medications and a limited selection of prescription medications, such as generic oral contraceptives and common antibiotics. The cost of any medications dispensed by the provider can be paid online through Bard College Student Accounts or in cash during the visit. Students may also opt to obtain any of these medications at a local pharmacy where they can use their insurance benefits by asking the provider to send a prescription electronically to the pharmacy of their choice.

Students who wish to apply for reimbursement from their insurance provider can obtain an invoice for any dispensed medications by visiting the Health Service Portal, or by emailing [email protected].

A list of local pharmacies can be found on the find a provider link.

Please note: The providers at Health Services do NOT write prescriptions for any psychiatric medication, except in very limited instances in which a one time prescription for 30 days or less may be needed to bridge a student between prescription refills. Please visit the Bard Counseling Service Website for information regarding on campus psychiatric services. 

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Laboratory Services

In-House Testing

• The following tests can be performed in our office at no extra cost as they are included in the annual student Health and Counseling Fee: rapid Strep A, rapid Monospot, urine dip, urine pregnancy, rapid Covid-19 antigen and rapid influenza testing.
• All other lab tests are collected onsite but sent out to LabCorp for processing. LabCorp will bill the student's primary insurance on file for any tests performed. The student must provide current insurance information at the time of the visit in order for the specimens to be transported to the lab for processing.
• A student may be sent to Northern Dutchess Hospital (Rhinebeck, NY) if a specialized test is needed and cannot be processed through our office due to storage requirements.  A student may also be referred to the hospital lab if our clinicians are unable to obtain a blood sample due to unforeseen circumstances.

Please Note:
Our office will only draw blood specimens for tests ordered by our providers. Our office does not draw blood for other medical providers. Students can obtain this service from local laboratories such as those at Northern Dutchess Hospital or LabCorp, both located in Rhinebeck, NY.

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Reproductive Health Services

Contraception (Birth Control)
At Health Services, we strongly believe in your right to control  your reproductive health. We are happy to discuss any form of contraception and help you decide which form makes the most sense for you. Currently, we prescribe most forms of hormonal contraception, including pills, patches, shots, rings and implants. We can place and remove Nexplanon implants in our office. If you are interested in an IUD (intrauterine device), we can refer you to a local clinic. If you need an IUD removed, we can do that in our office. We also always have condoms free and available in the clinic waiting room and provider offices. 
 
Emergency Contraception:
At Health Services, we offer two different options of pills for emergency contraception. Levonorgestrel (sometimes called Plan B) and ulipristal acetate (called Ella) are both available at Health Services free of charge to students. 

These pills will not work if you are already pregnant, and they will not affect an existing pregnancy. They also will not protect you from HIV or any other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Options for unintended pregnancy:
If a student becomes pregnant, we provide full options counseling and referrals. For students who choose to terminate a pregnancy and who meet a set of eligibility criteria, we can offer medication abortion at our clinic. For students who do not meet the criteria, or who prefer procedural termination, we will refer to a local clinic. For students desiring to continue a pregnancy, we offer referrals to local clinics.

Other sexual/reproductive health concerns: 
At Health Services, we also offer:

• Cervical cancer screening (Pap smears/HPV testing)
• Testing and treatment for vaginal infections (yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis (BV)
• Testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
• PrEP and PEP (see our Sexual Health Services section for more info)

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Sexual Health Services

STI Testing and Treatment
At Health Services, we offer testing as clinically indicated for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomonas, herpes, human papilloma virus (HPV), HIV, hepatitis C and syphilis. We offer treatment for most STIs, although some may require additional follow up with a specialist provider. 

PEP and PrEP
We also offer post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for potential exposure to HIV or bacterial STIs and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for students at high risk of contracting HIV. If a student prefers not to use insurance for STI testing due to privacy concern, the Bard Wellness Program offers monthly free STI clinics in partnership with Hudson Valley Community Services.

Gynecologic care 
We perform gynecologic exams for cervical cancer screening when indicated and for students who are experiencing vaginal symptoms. We can test and treat onsite for a number of gynecologic infections, including yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis (BV) and trichomonas, as well as other STIs as above. See the Reproductive Health section for more details. 

Sexual Assault 
In the case of sexual assault, our providers can provide PEP treatment and emergency contraception as above, as well as connecting students to Counseling and other supportive services, Bard's Title IX Office and nearby hospitals with certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners on staff. 

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Gender-Affirming Care

We offer hormones, medication teaching and counseling, lab monitoring and referrals as needed to trans, nonbinary and genderqueer students. 

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Allergy Clinic

We offer allergy injections for all students currently receiving treatment from their personal allergist. We require your current/updated physician’s orders as well as the serum from your attending allergist. These can be brought to Health Services upon arrival to campus or shipped directly from the allergist’s office. Please ask your provider to call our clinic to notify us that they have been sent. Students are responsible for pre-medicating with antihistamines if so instructed by their allergist. After their appointment, students are required to remain at Health Services for 30 minutes for observation. Every effort will be made to accommodate your scheduling needs. Please remember to collect your provider's orders and schedules as well as your allergy serum prior to leaving campus for holidays and breaks.

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Referrals to Specialists

• Our clinicians will refer students to off campus provider for long-term or complex medical conditions that our beyond our scope of care. 
• If you are under the care of a specialist for a long-term health issue or acute condition, please provide Bard Health Services with a case summary and specialist contact information.
• It is recommended that if you currently see a specialist, you plan to maintain continued contact with that provider while at Bard. If that is not possible, we encourage you to establish with a local specialist. Please refer to our list of Off-Campus Providers organized by specialty. 

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Health Education

Well-informed students can make educated and responsible choices for healthy living. In conjunction with the Wellness Program, we offer programs and workshops designed to educate students to promote a healthy college experience. Please visit the Bard Wellness website for more information. 

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Nutrition

llyse Simon, RD is a registered dietitian specializing in eating disorders, insulin resistance, and whole foods nutrition. Students can be referred to her through Health or Counseling Services.

Students who are recovering from an eating disorder or who have concerns about nutrition/disordered eating are encouraged to contact Health and Counseling Services for assistance. We can provide on-campus support, coordinate with the student's primary psychiatric and nutritional team or refer to local providers as needed

Please see Nutrition Services and Bard EATS  for more information about nutrition, food equity and dining services at Bard. 

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Medical Transportation

Transportation to off-campus visits: 
Please remember that Bard is located in a rural setting. Bard College does not routinely provide transportation to scheduled off-campus medical or psychiatric appointments, but there are a number of options students can use to obtain transportation to off-campus visits. The Bard Transportation website includes schedules for the Bard College Shuttle and local public transportation options.

Other transportation options include:

• Private car or friend with car
• Ride services, ie. Uber or Lyft
• Local taxi services: 
  •  Horseless Carriage: 800-836-5466 (takes credit cards)
  •  Red Hook Taxi Service: 845-758-1478 (takes credit cards)
  •  Rhinebeck Taxi: 845-876-TAXI (cash only)

Emergency transportation: 
In the case of an emergent or urgent medical appointment which does NOT require an ambulance, Bard may provide transportation through an Emergency Driver. A Student Services staff member may accompany the student if the student wishes. 

Short-term on-campus medical transportation: 
Following an acute injury or illness affecting mobility, Health Services can approve qualified students for rides on a limited-time basis (no more than 2 weeks) via Security. In order to qualify for this service, students MUST first be seen at Health Services.