Laboratory
About the WellCat Health Center Lab
Laboratory examinations complement the outpatient clinic service. The WellCat Health Center Laboratory is certified as a high complexity laboratory, and is inspected on a regular basis by State and Federal accrediting agencies. The WCHC Clinical Laboratory has been honored multiple times with a “Laboratory Excellence Award” by COLA, our national accrediting agency. This award is given to only a few clinical laboratories in the country based on very specific criteria of excellence.
Many of the tests ordered by WellCat Health Center are offered without charge. However, the cost of some tests cannot be supported by the WellCat Health Center, and the cost of these tests is the student's responsibility. The WellCat Health Center Laboratory does not directly bill insurance companies, but we can provide a receipt so the student can bill his/her own insurance.
Laboratory tests ordered by outside physicians can also be performed by the WCHC Laboratory Monday through Wednesday, as long as you provide us with a written lab request from your physician. Before coming to the lab for this service, students should register at the main windows of the WCHC building, and plan to arrive in the lab no later than 4 p.m. Outside lab orders are available Monday and Tuesday during Summer Hours.
Some tests require that patients be fasting (no food or liquid except water for 10-12 hours) prior to having the blood sample taken. If you are uncertain whether your tests require you to be fasting, you may call the laboratory or your provider.
Examples of some tests performed in the WCHC Laboratory are: urine tests (including tests for pregnancy and urinary tract infections); blood tests for anemia, chemistry and thyroid panels; bacteriology cultures; and sexually transmitted disease (STD) testing, which includes HIV, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Syphilis. We also accept self-directed STD testing, which can be requested through the student portal.
It is now required that you present your student ID card at the time of all laboratory testing.
