Health care at low cost or no cost at all. Yes, Michael Moore, it does exist and no you’re not being “Punk’d.” Student Health Services, located on San Diego State’s campus, provides students with a wide range of health care needs. It is complete with a diverse staff, ranging from administrative personnel to nurse practitioners, doctors, pharmacists, athletic trainers, health psychologists and registered dieticians.Angela Guzman, the Sexual Health Education instructor for the university and the Coordinator for Peer Health Education Programming, is devoted to SHS and all that it offers for the students of SDSU. For students with health insurance or those without, SHS has its benefits. “Through the health care center, students can drop by to get immunized, receive flu shots, obtain regular checkups or sign up for Family PACT, which offers free family planning services such as birth control, sexual health checkups, STD testing and more,” Guzman said. “Even for those who have insurance, SHS is normally lower cost and can get appointments for the patient quicker than their regular provider.” According to the American Lung Association, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which refers to two lung diseases, chronic bronchitis and emphysema, is the fourth leading cause of death in America. Approximately 80 to 90 percent of COPD deaths are caused by smoking. For students trying to quit smoking by using nicotine patches and gum or going cold turkey, SHS has a program to help. Guzman said the Health Promotion Department offers a variety of information sessions for students. Along with the Smoking Cessation session, there is an HIV Pretest session, Nutrition Counseling and an OBGYN Orientation. Low prices and information sessions are not the only benefits of going to SHS. “They don’t judge you at SHS,” biology junior Jessica Torres said. “They understand that we are young adults. They know how to address you when asking questions and are able to identify with students.”The greatest advantage of SHS is the staff’s ability to create a comfortable environment for the students. “We employ health educators with an area of expertise in alcohol and other drugs, eating disorders and body image, STD and pregnancy, etc.,” Guzman said. “We offer individual counseling services for students who need to talk about an uncomfortable topic.” “I went for counseling because I was so stressed.,” English and media studies senior Cyrille Villaflores said. “Two doctors worked with me and walked me through counseling. They got me on treatment, helped me to focus on school and deal with my anxiety. They know what’s relevant with college students and the medical issues that concern us the most.”At SHS, students are treated with the utmost care as patients, but there are also opportunities for students to get involved. Guzman runs Peer Health Educators and Lori Bednarchik runs Peer Advocates for Total College Health. Guzman said PHE is a select group of students who have to be accepted into the program and take part in intensive training for one full semester, which fulfills upper division credit.”They pick the topic they are most interested in (Alcohol and other Drugs, Body Image, MANers Frat, Nutrition and Sexual Health),” Guzman said. “After the training, they are promoted to become PHEs who go out and do health presentations for fellow students on campus.” In regards to P.A.T.C.H., Guzman said, “It is a way for the PHEs to become better acquainted with each other and a stepping stone for lower division students to get involved with public health.” Low costs, information sessions, a comfortable environment and a chance to bring awareness to fellow peers are all provided at SHS. It seems almost too good to be true, but if the Terminator could be elected as governor, anything is possible.

-Sarah Atallah is an English junior.

-This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec.