Reduced hours and services at Dick's House during the summer force students needing immediate medical attention to go to the emergency room at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center after 4 p.m. weekdays and on weekends.
Hours for primary care at Dick's Houses are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday during Summer term, reduced from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. And the entire in-patient department for overnight stays at Dick's House is closed for the summer.
Dr. Neild Mercer, assistant director of College Health Service, advised students who are seriously ill or injured to go to the DHMC.
"If students are not sure about the severity, call Safety and Security and get advice," Mercer said.
The Safety and Security Office arranges transportation through Dartmouth Cab, which charges only $1 to take students to the hospital.
Students who need some medical supervision but not hospitalization can have nurses visit them in their dorm rooms after seeing a practitioner at Dick's House. During the regular academic year, students would stay in the infirmary.
"We're finding that the dorm visits work out very well. People are happy to stay in their dorms rather than in Dick's House," Dr. Barbara Payson, a Dick's Housestaff physician, said.
The closing of the all-night infirmary also raises particular concern with regards to caring for intoxicated students.
According to Mercer, students will either be discharged to their rooms or taken to the hospital by Safety and Security officers, who will make the decision based on the level of intoxication.
During the regular academic year, students are normally taken to Dick's House for care. Mercer said students with low blood alcohol levels are discharged to their rooms, students with moderate levels of blood alcohol content stay overnight in the in-patient infirmary and students with high blood alcohol counts are taken to the DHMC.
According to Payson, the reduced hours and services are partly due to cost management but also due to the lack of demand.
"We find there are less illnesses during the summer," Payson said.
If the number of students are reduced during the summer to approximately one-third the size of the other terms, "running a full staff loses a lot of efficiency," said Yolanda Baumgartner, business administrator of Dick's House.
Baumgartner said the reduced hours and services during the summer have been in place for at least five years.
According to Payson, other clinical services at Dick's House have also been reduced. The pharmacy is only open from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from noon to 2 p.m. The dermatology clinic is open in the evening once every other week. The allergy clinic operates by appointment only.
The Counseling and Human Development department at Dick's House is operating at its regular hours, without many reductions or changes, according to Mercer.
The self-serving cold clinic is available only when Dick's House is open. During the regular school year, the clinic is accessible until midnight because nurses staffing the in-patient infirmaries are on duty and can let students into the cold clinic.
