Norwalk : College Board OKs Plans to Erect Campus Health Center

Trustees of Cerritos College have approved plans to construct a 3,000-square-foot health and wellness center. The board also approved leasing a trailer for temporary health services until the center is completed late next year.

The center, paid for by student health fees, will provide a full range of medical services for the first time. In the past, students could receive only first aid. The center also will sponsor clinics on nutrition, exercise, AIDS awareness, breast self-examination and other programs, said Fran Newman, vice president of student services. “We want this to be more than a Band-Aid,” Newman said. “Many of our students don’t have insurance, and this is the only health care available to them.”

Board member Joe Stits approved of the plan, but he also urged the staff to hire a male nurse. “In this age of gender sensitivity, I think it would be a good thing,” he said. “Everyone laughs at me, but I’ll persist.”