At the south end of Grand Valley State University’s Allendale Campus, there is a hidden gem that many students do not know about. The Metro Health GVSU Campus Health Center is located on 42nd Avenue, across the street from the water tower and down the road from Laker Village.

The health center is a family practice office only available for the students and faculty of GVSU. This past summer, the center went under a complete renovation where they doubled their capacity in order to accommodate and treat more students and faculty. Part of this renovation included laboratory and radiology spaces.

Amy DeGood is the office manager of the Allendale and GVSU Metro Health centers.

“We are staffed by Dr. Boyd and Dr. Beall – both who are the GVSU sports medicine team physicians on campus,” DeGood said. “We also have Emily Gerardy and Heather Maurey who are both mid-level providers on staff.”

The GVSU Campus Health Center offers many services, such as the diagnosis and treatment of short term illnesses, injuries and infections. The center also creates access to annual health screenings, sports physicals, gynecological exams, pap smears and allergy shots. The center will give immunizations for Tetanus, Flu, Hepatitis A & B, Meningococcal, MMR, Pneumonia, Shingles, Varicella and Polio. Also provided by Metro Health are sports medicine and sexual health services, medication prescriptions, diagnostic tests and laboratory and radiology services such as blood work and X-rays.

“We see patients by appointment only,” DeGood said. “But typically (we) have the availability for same-day urgent appointments if needed. We will accommodate walk-in labs and immunizations.”

The Campus Health Center is especially useful to students whose homes are far away from GVSU.

“It will be really convenient to have the health center so close this year, especially since I’ve already been sick this year, and it was a hassle to try and call my doctor at home to try and help me,” said Alison Hige, freshman nursing student at GVSU.

The center processes insurance information just as a student’s home doctor’s office does. The Metro Health Campus Health Center bills all major insurance plans for any service provided. If a student does not have health insurance, the office offers a 40 percent discount off the bill amount. The services provided will not be billed through the student’s tuition.

The Metro Health Campus Health Center is open Monday through Friday every week. Their hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday and Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. It can be accessed easily by walking or taking the Rapid bus route 48 through south campus.

To schedule an appointment at the health center, call (616) 252-6030. They suggest patients bring a list of all prescription and non-prescription medications they are taking or have taken recently to the appointment. Also needed is a driver’s license or GVSU ID and an insurance card or a copy of the card. There is also a student registration form available on the Campus Health Center website at www.metrohealth.net/gvsu-campus-health-center.