Post-secondary students enrolled in campuses across the province have access to health benefits.
Usually provided by the student union supporting the institution, these health plans give students access to things like dental, vision, prescription coverage, and more. All while being included in the cost of their tuition fees.
At George Brown College (GBC) the Student Association (SA) has long provided students with the necessary coverage they need.
In addition to the usual benefits available to students, those attending GBC have had access to an additional level of care for most of the previous academic year.
This comes in the form of the Virtual Clinics, a first of its kind initiative which brings healthcare right onto the campus – or accessible anywhere they have access to WiFi. This makes it even easier for students to manage their health.
Launched September 2024, the SA partnered with Cleveland Clinic Canada and benefits provider WeSpeakStudent (soon to be Alumo), on the new initiative. It brought the convenience of skipping long walk-in clinic wait times, while being able to meet with a nurse practitioner to get diagnosed for non-emergency situations.
“[The] virtual clinic is an online platform so students can access, through the online platform to the nursing practitioner. And [the] nursing practitioner can provide the prescription drugs for the medication, or refer to the specialist if the student need it,” said Yukiko Ito, senior coordinator of the Health Benefits service.
As visits to walk-in clinics and ERs can end up costing the majority of a day, student’s being able to access either the On-Campus Virtual Clinics or the Express Care Online service, can help get them care faster.
While both services will connect students with a medical professional, the on campus clinics will see students visit one of the pods located in SA spaces at each of the three major campuses. Their appointment will have the nurse practitioner walk them through an examination – which can check hearts, lungs, body temperature, and more.
Students can get their prescriptions, referrals, and more while still being on campus for their classes. Students can access the pods on campus during SA operational hours.
Express Care on the other hand, is accessible anywhere at any time of the day. All you need is a device that can connect to the internet to login and get instant access to healthcare.
Things which can be treated by using the Virtual Clinics includes the flu, lower back pain, anxiety, vomiting, bug bites, gout, and more.
The Virtual Clinic services are only available to those who are enrolled in a health benefits plan throughout the academic year.
There are three different plans available to students. These include a domestic plan with health and dental coverage; a plan for English as a Second Language (ESL) students which offers basic Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) coverage like visiting the hospital; and finally, an international student plan which offers basic OHIP coverage, or extended health and dental, similar to domestic student plans.
It’s also important to know that students must choose to change their plan, add or remove dependents, or opt-out of the plan all together, by no later than Oct. 2, 2025.
For more information visit studentassociation.ca/health.
