Like other patients sitting in the plastic-covered seats, Amy Hu fidgeted and nervously twirled her hair.
The waiting room, at the end of the proverbial long white hallway, looked like any other physician’s waiting room, peppered with wilting plants and framed pictures of oceanside scenes.
But for Hu, this one carried additional meaning. She was here to learn if she had any sexually transmitted diseases.
Though the tests seem intuitive for many reasons — confidence after a rape or random hook-up, security in starting off a new sexual relationship or just plain peace of mind — students who decide to get tested face obstacles ranging from cost to transportation to confidentiality. Hu, a freshman cell and molecular biology and genetics and psychology major, agreed to share her story with The Diamondback.
“I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t get an STD test if they were sexually active,” said Hu, a constantly smiling Chinese-American in a heavy, white winter coat. “It’s always better to be safe than sorry. I don’t know why more people don’t get it.”
Despite her resolve, Hu balked when she saw the price of the tests at the University Health Center. Men must pay $30 for a general screening, and women who also want to get a pelvic exam to test for HPV (genital warts) must pay as much as $60. Testing for HIV and other rarer viruses requires additional fees, bringing the bill for a complete screening to $80.
“I thought it was pretty expensive, you know, for college students to pay,” Hu said.
The price is particularly daunting to students who don’t want to use their insurance for fear of their parents finding out.
The health center, although comparatively pricey, provides students with a number of advantages that free clinics cannot, including proximity and a trustworthy atmosphere, said Tara Torchia, coordinator of sexual health education programs. Torchia said the charge for the tests is close to what it costs to give them, and any small amount of profit goes to salaries and building maintenance.
“I decided to get tested at the health center because it’s on [the] campus and it’s confidential,” freshman letters and sciences major Adrienne Dukes said. “The cost was really my only problem with it.” She said she paid for the tests in cash rather than risk her parents seeing the insurance bill.
Torchia said she didn’t think the cost of testing was a significant deterrent for most students, estimating that only one in 200 students opted out of testing when discovering the price.
Both the health center and the Prince George’s County Sexually Transmitted Disease Control Program, located about five miles from the campus in Cheverly, offer confidential, but not anonymous, testing.
Hu asked the health center to recommend a cheaper clinic but said she wasn’t told of other options.
Torchia said the health center is reluctant to recommend local free clinics to students.
“Some of the free clinics are not in the prettiest environments, and some of the clients are from a variety of backgrounds,” she said. “I’ve heard students describe them as ‘sketchy areas.’”
Still, Hu didn’t want to pay what the health center charged. After doing some online research, she took the bus to the Cheverly Health Center for her screening.
The clinic, which is funded by federal, state and local governments, asks patients to donate $10 but does not force them to if they can’t afford it.
The Cheverly Health Center is a dull brick building about 15 minutes from the campus. Hu entered with some apprehension, but she was pleasantly surprised.
“This place isn’t sketchy at all,” she said. “The doctor’s office was, like, meticulously clean.”
After a nurse ushered her to the physician’s office, Hu went through the preliminary interview about her sexual history and the blood work for a syphilis test. Then she was called to get a Pap smear, a procedure designed to test for specific STDs instead of the broad range of conditions evaluated in most gynecological exams.
After the exams, all that was left was the wait.
“I don’t have any symptoms or anything, but I just want to get this over with,” Hu said.
After a tense 10 minutes, another nurse called Hu back into the physician’s office. When she came back, her face was a mask of relief. “The doctor said, ‘We didn’t find anything,’” Hu said, grinning. “I really feel like this huge burden has been lifted off my shoulders … because the stress of the exam is finally over with.”
If money wasn’t an issue, Hu said she would have preferred to get tested at the health center because of its proximity, but she doesn’t regret choosing the clinic in Cheverly.
“I’m just glad it’s over,” she said. “I mean, when you think you might have an STD, the last thing you want to worry about is going out of your way to find a place that’s affordable and anonymous.”