Health Care for College Students, Around Your Class Schedule
College comes with its own health questions and a full schedule. Sagebrooke offers telehealth visits that can fit around your classes, for students located in Utah, with private care for everything from a sore throat to birth control to anxiety.
Become a Patient
What College Student Care Includes
Moving away for college often means finding a primary care provider on your own for the first time. Sagebrooke Family Medicine is in an area near Utah State University, and our telehealth visits let students get care from an apartment or dorm room instead of missing class to sit in a waiting room.
Brooke Tuttle, FNP-C, is a board-certified family nurse practitioner who has practiced family medicine since 2017. She cares for the everyday health needs of college students: colds and sore throats, urinary tract infections, sexual health, birth control, acne, minor injuries, and mental health concerns like anxiety, depression and ADHD.
Telehealth visits are for patients physically located in Utah at the time of the visit. Some care needs an in-person visit, such as a strep swab, a pelvic exam or an X-ray. Sagebrooke starts as a telehealth practice, and an in-person clinic is planned in Cache County, Utah. Until then, we will help you arrange hands-on care nearby.
Common reasons students reach out
- A cold, cough, sore throat, sinus pressure or stomach bug
- Burning or frequent urination that could be a UTI
- STD testing, or symptoms you want checked
- Starting or refilling birth control, or starting HIV PrEP
- Stress, anxiety, low mood or trouble sleeping
- Trouble focusing that makes you wonder about ADHD, or continuing ADHD care
- Acne or a rash that is not getting better
- A minor sprain or strain from sports or the gym
What to Expect
- Telehealth visits from your apartment or dorm, for students located in Utah
- Private care: as an adult, your health information is yours
- Labs at a local lab, imaging at a local imaging center and prescriptions sent to your pharmacy
- Help arranging in-person care, such as swabs, exams and X-rays, when video is not enough
- One provider who can follow you through your college years
Our Approach to Caring for College Students
Easy to Start
A video visit can fit around classes, work and practice. Bring your questions, your medication list and your insurance card, whether it is your own plan, a parent's plan or a student plan.
Private and Respectful
You are an adult, and your health information is private. We do not share it with your parents without your permission, outside of an emergency. Sexual health and mental health questions are welcome here.
Clear Next Steps
You leave knowing the plan, whether that is a prescription, a lab test, home care or help finding in-person care nearby, and when to check back in.
Benefits
Care Without Missing Class
Video visits mean no waiting room, which makes it easier to get care when you need it.
Private Care for Adults
Sexual health, mental health and other personal concerns are handled confidentially.
A Provider Who Knows You
Instead of a new face every time, you can see the same provider throughout college.
Help Beyond the Visit
Labs, imaging, prescriptions and in-person care are arranged locally, and we follow up on results with you.
How Care Usually Works
Before Your First Visit
Check whether your plan covers the visit, whether you are on a parent's plan or a student plan, and have your medication list ready.
The Visit
A telehealth visit from a private spot while you are located in Utah. We talk through your concern and your health history and agree on a plan.
The Next Few Days
Pick up any prescriptions at your pharmacy, complete any labs at a local lab, and reach back out if you are not improving as expected.
Through College
Come back for follow-up, refills, mental health check-ins and new concerns, so your care stays in one place while you are in school.
Going home for breaks? Plan ahead
Telehealth visits with Sagebrooke require you to be physically located in Utah at the time of the visit. That matters for students from out of state. If you go home for the summer or a holiday break, we generally cannot hold a video visit while you are outside Utah, even if you are already a patient.
Before you leave, ask about refills, finish any follow-up visits and labs, and talk with us about a plan for care while you are away. If you need care while you are out of state, you may need to see a clinician licensed where you are.
Sexual health, PrEP and birth control
College is a common time to have questions about sexual health. We offer confidential STD testing and treatment, HIV PrEP, and birth control counseling. Pills, the patch and the ring can often be started after a telehealth visit, while IUDs, implants and the shot need an in-person visit, which we will help you arrange.
If you think you were exposed to HIV in the last 72 hours, do not wait for a visit. Go to an emergency room or urgent care right away and ask about PEP.
Mental health and ADHD
Stress, anxiety, depression and sleep problems are common during college, and they are treatable. We can talk through what you are experiencing, screen for anxiety and depression, and build a plan that may include counseling referrals, lifestyle steps and medication when appropriate.
For ADHD, we can talk through new concerns, start an evaluation and refer for further testing when it is needed, or continue care that started with a previous provider. ADHD stimulant medications are controlled medications, so when medication is appropriate, it is prescribed following the federal and Utah rules that apply, which may include an in-person visit. Records from your previous provider help.
If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or call 911.
Common Questions About College Student Care
Do I need to be in Utah for a telehealth visit?
Yes. You need to be physically located in Utah at the time of every telehealth visit. If you are an out-of-state student, this matters when you go home for summer or holiday breaks, so plan refills and follow-up before you leave.
Will my parents find out about my visit?
As an adult, your health information is private, and we do not share it with your parents without your permission, outside of an emergency. If you are on a parent's insurance plan, though, the plan may send an explanation of benefits to the policyholder that shows a visit or test happened. If that is a concern, ask your insurer how it handles privacy for adult dependents.
Is Sagebrooke part of Utah State University?
No. Sagebrooke Family Medicine is a family medicine practice in an area near Utah State University. It is not part of the university and is not affiliated with it.
Can I get STD testing or PrEP as a student?
Yes. We offer confidential STD testing and treatment and HIV PrEP, with testing at a local lab. If you think you were exposed to HIV in the last 72 hours, go to an emergency room or urgent care right away and ask about PEP.
Can you prescribe my ADHD medication?
We can continue ADHD care or start an evaluation. Stimulant medications are controlled, so we cannot promise a prescription by telehealth. When medication is appropriate, it is prescribed following the federal and Utah rules that apply, which may include an in-person visit. Bringing records from your previous provider helps.
Can I use a parent's insurance plan or a student plan?
Sagebrooke Family Medicine is an insurance-based practice, and we are in the process of joining insurance plans. What you pay depends on your plan, including any copay, deductible or coinsurance. Contact the practice to check whether your plan is accepted, and check with your insurer about coverage for medications, labs and imaging. If you are covered by a parent's plan or a student plan, also check whether that plan covers telehealth visits with a family medicine practice like ours.
Related Services
Service
STD Testing and Treatment
Confidential testing at a local lab, with treatment when appropriate.
Service
HIV PrEP
Medicine that greatly lowers the chance of getting HIV, with regular follow-up.
Service
Depression, Anxiety and ADHD Care
Help with stress, mood, worry and focus.
Condition
Urinary Tract Infections
Burning and frequent urination, with a urine test at a local lab when needed.
Condition
Acne
Treatment options for teens and adults, reviewed with photos by video.
Telehealth
How Telehealth Visits Work
What to expect from a video visit and what needs an in-person visit.
A Student Looking for a Provider?
Reach out through our contact page to ask a question, check whether your insurance plan is accepted, or request a telehealth appointment. For an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
Become a Patient