Of the many on campus services offered by Clemson university, Redfern Health Services stand out as laughably one of the worst. The quality of service that students experience at the facility is often less-than-preferable and the attitude of the staff there varies per visit. Redfern maintains an infamous status across Clemson’s campus as less of a health service and more of a health hazard.
Students who lack a comical story about the poor service that they received at Redfern are few and far between. Whether that be rushed visits by the staff, irritant doctors, or a misdiagnosed condition, Redfern is not known for their efficiency nor for their love from the students of Clemson. While some of these stories may be humorous in the aftermath of their particular situation, others are more serious—such as those students who, due to the frequency of CAPS being overbooked, are left with limited options of therapy. Thus, the general consensus among students across campus is that Redfern is rarely effective at improving their situation and many have found it to be more prudent to merely sleep off their ailment instead of making the walk or the drive to Redfern.
Recently, I had an experience with Redfern that not only angered me, but it solidified my belief that the people working there are utterly incompetent. Just about a week prior to exams I had a high fever, was constantly drowsy, and had had an incredibly painful sore throat for the past two weeks. Naturally, I checked into Redfern with the belief that they would be able to help me with whatever had been keeping me under the weather for that past week. As I saw the nurses they appeared almost indifferent to my condition and spoke very little to me. When I voiced my concerns for what I might have had (I thought, correctly, that I had mono) they quickly disregarded them and told me that I was likely overreacting. After receiving a finger prick, I was told that I was completely fine and that I should just get some more rest. I was sent on my way under the assumption that I hadn’t been getting enough sleep the past week. However, after one excruciating week of exams and having to fight off a 102 degree fever the whole week, I visited my own doctor, where almost immediately after I arrived, he informed me that I did in fact have mono. I could have written this off as an understandable error on the part of the staff at Redfern, however I had mentioned during my appointment that I was concerned that it may have been mono and that notion was shrugged off by the nurses there. In addition to that, this is not the first time that they have misdiagnosed me with something. This is just one of countless examples of Redfern’s incompetency.
Other examples that I have heard are that they have misdiagnosed strep throat by instead claiming that the girl was pregnant (she was not), disregarding ear infections, not being able to read the weight of the patient, and more examples that would frankly take way too long to include in this article. While I have no way to confirm the validity of all of these statements, Redfern’s reputation is so poor that I do not doubt these claims.
Another aspect that I have personally felt about Redfern is that every time I have gone in and up to the front desk, the reception has always acted like I’m disrupting her day. I wouldn’t really care about this, however since I have consistently had sub-par service there, I felt somewhat obliged to include this.
All of this being said, it would be wrong to infer that I am not grateful for an on-campus health service. In fact, I believe that this is an important part of any university. I have received flu shots from Redfern in the past (Something which everyone should do!) and while I have never utilized CAPS, I have been told by some close friends that it has helped them through rough times. Both of those services provided by Redfern have helped thousands of Clemson students. Therefore, my criticism of Redfern does not come from their mere existence, it comes from the stereotypical incredibly poor service that they have provided Clemson students. They are used less for their medical services and more as the butt of an innumerable amount of jokes and stories and I feel as though this is potentially dangerous. I am more than grateful for the availability of a health center on campus, however, if that center consistently gives poor service to the students of the university, then what’s the point of even having it?
