Sexual & Reproductive Health Visits
Alice! Health Promotion at Columbia Health provides Sexual & Reproductive Health (SRH) Visits for students. To attend an SRH visit, you can attend SRH Drop-In Hours or email [email protected] with a few dates and times that you’re available.
Sexual & Reproductive Health Visits at Columbia Health
Students can meet with a professional staff member or GHAP Advocate to talk about topics related to sexual and reproductive health. These topics may include questions about sex, birth control options, STI prevention and testing (including PrEP), pregnancy options, and identity.
If you are seeking PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) or emergency contraception, this is considered a medical emergency. PEP and emergency contraception must be started within 72 hours of exposure. Please contact Medical Services at 212-854-7426, available 24/7.
These visits are confidential and HIPAA-compliant. In addition to education, our professional staff and GHAP Advocates can order HIV and STI testing, as well as other lab tests necessary for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis).
Who is eligible?
Services are available to all students on the Morningside and Manhattanville campuses, including those at Teachers College, Union Theological Seminary, and Jewish Theological Seminary.
How do I attend a Sexual & Reproductive Health Visit?
You can attend Sexual & Reproductive Health Drop-in Hours in-person or virtually. If you’re unable to make drop-in hours, you can email [email protected] with a few dates and times that you’re available.
If you're interested in learning about long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), including IUDs and the Nexplanon implant, you can complete the LARC Intake Form. After you complete it, you'll be given a link to schedule an appointment with Alice! staff to discuss LARC options and pre-visit instructions, and to get scheduled for an insertion appointment with Medical Services.
If you’d like to start PrEP, you can complete the PrEP Intake form. After you complete it, you’ll be given a link to schedule an appointment to discuss PrEP, gather your health history, and order the necessary labs. Once you’ve completed the PrEP intake appointment, you can schedule an appointment with Medical Services, where your provider will write your prescription for PrEP.
How much will it cost?
You will pay no additional costs for Sexual & Reproductive Health Visits with Alice! Health Promotion. Additionally, you’ll pay no additional costs for HIV testing.
If you're on the Columbia Student Health Insurance Plan, you’ll pay no additional costs for STI tests, PrEP, and birth control.
If you have a different insurance plan, your costs will be dependent on your plan’s coverage. Most plans cover prescription birth control options, STI tests, PrEP, and PEP. We can help you find the insurance information you need to learn more about your costs.
What else do I need to know?
If you’re seeking STI testing and are not enrolled in the Columbia Student Health Insurance Plan, please bring your insurance card with you.
Where can I learn more about these topics?
If you’d like to learn more about birth control options, pregnancy options, PrEP, PEP, or STI testing before you attend an appointment, you can learn more from the fact sheets at Columbia’s health Q&A resource, Go Ask Alice!
Here are a few selected fact sheets to get you started:
Frequently Asked Questions
Students with a HIV-positive status can establish care with a provider at Medical Services and receive a referral to our partner HIV Specialist uptown at Columbia University Medical Center/New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Routine visits and testing for medication prescriptions will be done with both Medical Services and CUMC/NYP.
Our staff and volunteers are trained to hold conversations on a large range of sexual and reproductive health-related topics with a student-centered approach. We use motivational interviewing in our conversations, meaning that we ask guiding questions to help students assess what practices (such as PrEP use, types of birth control methods, which STI tests to order) are most in-alignment with their lifestyle, values, and desires. We acknowledge that students come from all different backgrounds and comfortability in talking about sexual and reproductive health topics, and that there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to SRH discussions.
GHAP Advocates are trained graduate and undergraduate student volunteers that provide 1:1 support to students on a variety of sexual and reproductive health needs, including providing routine STI/HIV screening and referral to testing; PrEP and PEP consultations; education about safer sex practices, birth control options, menstrual and reproductive health; and peer support around sexuality, gender and identity.