Amber Chavez had a cold. Because she is an SF State student, she had several options for treatment. In this case she chose to visit the Student Health Center (SHS) on campus because of its convenient location.

Chavez could have visited a doctor outside the SHS because she is covered under her parents’ insurance, or she could have visited one of the many free clinics in San Francisco.

Albert Angelo, a health educator on campus, said people generally use different options for health care.

“Students are piecing together medical care,” Angelo said. He likened it to shopping. “They’re trying to get the best value.”

Included in the price of tuition, all regularly enrolled students are entitled to use the services the center offers. These services include everything from basic care to women’s services to podiatry, but not dental care or surgery.

Many free health care clinics provide similar services, but the Haight-Ashbury Free Medical Clinic on Clayton Street in San Francisco also offers acupuncture, smoking cessation services and chiropractic care.

The North East Medical Services, which has three locations, on Stockton Street, Leland Avenue and Taraval Avenue, is one of the few clinics that offer dentistry.

While the clinics are categorized as free health care clinics, fees are based on a sliding scale.

“We have a very friendly sliding scale,” Leoni Figueredo, the clinic manager at the Haight-Ashbury Free Medical Clinic, said. “If you don’t earn anything, you don’t pay anything.”

Chavez said she would consider using a free health care clinic if she wanted to keep things confidential and not run into other students while waiting for an appointment.

Other students agreed and said they would prefer to use a free clinic because they feel it is more private. They don’t run the risk of running into friends or classmates, working or visiting, at SHS.

Nicole Damon, 23, a senior anthropology major, said she used a free clinic in the Castro once for STD testing, because she was concerned about her privacy at SHS.

“I was under the impression that STD testing was confidential, but not anonymous and my insurance could get a hold of it,” Damon said.

According to SHS, STD testing is confidential and a student’s insurance company can only get ahold of the results with the student’s consent. HIV testing is also confidential, and the Student Health Center does not keep a record of the students’ names.

The city of San Francisco, however, does keep a list of the last names of those tested at free clinics in the city.

Ann Pattison, a senior health education major, 22 said she doesn’t see the need to use a free health care clinic when SF State has a health center that students have already paid for through their fees.

“Everything is so accessible because I’m on campus so much,” Pattison said.