Located just east of the miniature observatory near the Matador Bookstore is CSUN’s Klotz Student Health Center that can take care of all these problems and much more, according to Sharon Aronoff, health educator and part of the Student Health Outreach program.

The health fees embedded in tuition costs will cover most health needs of students, she said, adding that she wants students to know that the center is open whenever the university is open, including summer time.

The Student Health Center handles 63,000 visits a year, Aronoff said, but she was careful to clarify that this didn’t mean they see 63,000 students per year, as students often are seen multiple times. She listed the many services available at the health center, which include treating conditions as serious as broken bones and sprained ankles, but not anything that might require an ambulance.

“We don’t do open heart surgery, we don’t deliver babies and we won’t take out your appendix,” Aronoff said.

In addition to the basic services of providing doctors and nurses for illnesses and injuries, the health center also has a dental clinic, optometry clinic, massage therapy facility, chiropractic care and acupuncture for minimal student charges. Faculty and staff pricing is slightly higher.

The dental clinic charges $79 for the first visit, which includes basic X-rays, cleaning and exam. There is currently a tooth-whitening summer special costing $199 that includes fabrication of a cast of one’s mouth.

The optometry clinic charges $40 for a basic eye exam and $65 to $85 for a contact lens exam, depending on how complex the procedure. Eyewear runs from $99 to $400. Prescriptions from outside providers can be filled there as well.

There are two massage therapists on staff who charge $25 for a 50-minute massage, or $15 for a 15-minute in-chair massage. Aronoff said most students don’t bother with the $15 session.

The chiropractic clinic charges $5 for an adjustment, and Aronoff said they’re having a buy-one-get-one-free deal for the summer.

Acupuncturist Joo Kim is the latest addition to the health center, having started there in October of 2006.

She said 80 percent of the students she treats have never had acupuncture before but may have heard from their friends that it was effective against stress or hypertension.

Normally, acupuncture treatments cost $20, but there is a summer special now where students pay $20 for the first visit and the second one is free.

Other services include physical therapy, and there is a registered dietician, Ellen Bauersfeld, who advises students on everything from weight loss to maintaining a balanced diet.

There is a full-service lab that tests for everything a lab at a major hospital might test for including urine and blood analysis. Charges are only incurred when tests need to be sent out, and then only what the testing facility charges Klotz.

The pharmacy at the health center fills most prescriptions, but students taking medicine for chronic conditions should check and see if their medication is listed on the pharmacy’s formulary, Aronoff said.

The health center tests for HIV with both a blood and oral test, but doesn’t treat AIDS. Aronoff said they will refer chronic conditions out to a specialist.

Issis Martinez, 29, a junior child development major said her experience as a patient at the Klotz Center was better than seeing her regular doctor, as it took less time here.

She found out about the health center through the student catalogue and said she wanted to take advantage of the free services.

Carolina Rafols, a Brazilian student who recently graduated, has been using the Klotz Center for two years and said her experience was good.

She likes the center because the doctors seem more attuned to the problems of college students, like students getting STDs and using a lot of drugs.

“They aren’t judgmental at all,” she said, adding that she was here today to see the chiropractor.

She has had dental work done in the past, found out about an allergy she had through the clinic and learned she needed to use an inhaler.

Aronoff says she just wants to get the message out to students that the Klotz Center is here and open for business.