Columbia Health provides services to Morningside, Manhattanville, and, Teachers College students (including affiliates) with select services also provided on the Medical Center campus. Our team has more than 200 individuals, including medical providers, therapists, psychiatrists, disability specialists, health promotion specialists, nutritionists, peer counselors, support staff, and administrative professionals.
Led by Executive Vice President, University Life and Well-Being Melanie Bernitz, Columbia Health senior staff oversee the following areas:
- Administration, led by Michael McNeil
- Alice! Health Promotion, led by Alic Czachowski
- Counseling and Psychological Services, led by Richard Eichler
- Disability Services, led by Colleen Lewis
- Medical Services, led by Urmi Desai
- Sexual Violence Response, led by La’Shawn Rivera
Columbia Health is fully accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). All Columbia Health providers are credentialed in accordance with state and federal mandates, as well as AAAHC requirements. Columbia Health is recognized by the AAAHC as a Patient-Centered Medical Home. The services provided by a Medical Home are patient-centered, comprehensive, accessible, and organized to meet the needs of the individual patients served. Within the patient-centered Medical Home, patients are empowered to be responsible for their own health care.
Columbia Health offers a broad range of on campus services including routine and urgent medical visits, short-term mental-health counseling, sexual violence prevention and advocacy services, disability services, along with educational and skill-based health and wellness programs. These services are available to students, as part of the Columbia Health fee. (diagram of Columbia Health units)
All offices are located on the Morningside campus (map of Morningside locations, with footnote about SVR and DS CUMC locations).
Medical Services is a comprehensive, primary care practice that can meet the majority of your medical needs while you’re at Columbia. In addition to preventive and primary care Medical Services offers nutrition counseling, gynecological and IUD placement, sports medicine, travel medicine, allergy shots, immunizations and even acupuncture. For most students, appointments can easily be made on the Columbia Health website health.columbia.edu
Counseling and Psychological Services offers short-term therapy, medication management, and support groups on different topics including trauma, eating disorders, mindfulness, and managing academics. CPS clinicians are highly trained, represent a broad variety of cultural backgrounds and professional experience, and offer treatment in more than a dozen languages. (illustration of representing different languages).
Sexual Violence Response is a confidential support resource for students. Professional staff and volunteers provide crisis counseling, intervention and advocacy. SVR operates a 24 hour, 7 days a week helpline where you can seek confidential support (show Helpline number: 212-854-HELP(4357)). SVR also provides prevention education and outreach, through innovative workshops, trainings and co-sponsored events.
Disability Services facilitates access for students with disabilities by coordinating accommodations and services. Disability Services works with students with all types of disabilities including physical, psychiatric, sensory, and learning disabilities, and students with chronic medical conditions. Visit the Columbia Health website for information on how to register.
Alice! Health Promotion focuses on building and supporting a campus environment where healthier choices are the norm. Alice! offers health and wellness programs to promote good sleep habits, cope with stress, understand responsible alcohol use, support healthy sexual activity, and much more. Visit Go Ask Alice!, our online health Q&A resource, to find answers to your most personal health questions. goaskalice.columbia.edu
For more information about Columbia Health or to make an appointment, please visit us online.
health.columbia.edu, facebook.com/columbiahealth, @columbiahealth on Instagram
Take advantage of these campus resources – after all—your health is up to you!
Be well, Columbia Health
Mission, Vision, and Values
Mission
Columbia Health advances the well-being of the Columbia University community and the personal and academic development of students.
Vision
Columbia Health envisions leading University efforts to equitably advance well-being for the communities we serve.
Values
Respect
We are empathic; affirming and appreciating differences while demonstrating compassion and understanding for all.
Integrity
We adhere to the standards of our professions and are committed to being ethical, principled, accountable, and trusted colleagues, practitioners, and leaders.
Integration
We provide continuing opportunities for collaboration and broad campus involvement while leveraging our expertise across disciplines to contribute to learning and success.
Quality
We embody excellence, innovation, and creativity by continuously evaluating and improving programs and services.
Belonging
We promote the sense of acceptance, inclusion, and embracing the identities of all.
Last reviewed: 10/24/2025
Operating Philosophy
Comprehensive Care, 24/7
Our operating model is structured to provide the most comprehensive level of care, driven by student need, service utilization, industry best practices – and above all – an unequivocal commitment to the health and well-being of each and every student. Our approach is guided by the American College Health Association (ACHA) framework for a comprehensive college health program and has been endorsed through national accreditation with the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Healthcare (AAAHC) as well as through our ongoing partnership with the JED Foundation.
Office Hours
The primary office-hour availability of our services is designed to meet the needs of our student community, based on their own schedules and most common times that care is sought. We continually evaluate utilization data and adjust as needed.
Same Day
80% of visits to Medical Services are same day appointments. On a regular basis, we explore ways to maximize staffing and resources to accommodate more same day appointments, which will help decrease the need for after-hours care.
Counseling and Psychological Services facilitates 1,000 drop-in visits annually at a number of campus locations throughout the week. Drop-in sessions do not require a scheduled appointment, but can often lead to a regular visit with a clinician.
After-Hours
The same, unconditional commitment to student health drives the support and structure of Columbia Health’s comprehensive after-hours care. The foremost goal of our after-hours operation is to ensure students get quick access to appropriate support and care. To achieve this goal, after-hours care is provided via different means, and per industry best practices may not include onsite services. In some cases, telephone help lines or local providers are best-positioned to provide the right level of emergency care to our students. This extensive approach to after-hours service is only strengthened by our location in a city with world-class facilities within walking distance of our campus.
Only a small and decreasing number of peer institutions maintain overnight infirmaries; many of Columbia’s peers use a similar approach to after-hours medical and mental health care.
Medical Services
After hours, Medical Services partners with FoneMed, a company that works with clients in the healthcare industry nationwide, providing trained and licensed registered nurses that help to evaluate a student’s needs and provide appropriate telephone advice. This may range from self-care suggestions to an emergency room referral. Medical Services receives reports from FoneMed on all student calls for follow-up to ensure continuity of care. This model is used by many professional organizations and peer institutions, and has been demonstrated as efficient, effective and safe.
Counseling and Psychological Services
After hours, CPS partners with Protocall, a leading nationwide and accredited provider in telephonic behavioral health services. Trained clinicians speak directly with students to provide advice, determine an immediate action plan for the evening, or make referrals for next steps in the student’s care. In case of a crisis, this system prevents delay in accessing emergency care. CPS has a clinician on call 24/7 that the Protocall team consults with as needed. In addition, CPS receives reports on all student calls for follow-up to ensure continuity of care.
Sexual Violence Response
After hours, SVR Advocates (Professional and Peer) are available by calling the SVR Helpline at 212-854-4357. The SVR Helpline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for students seeking support, information and/or requesting in-person accompaniment to local emergency departments, law enforcement and public safety.
CUEMS
In emergency situations, Public Safety can dispatch CUEMS to respond to a student to provide basic medical care and /or transport to the hospital as appropriate. CUEMS is a student-operated, New York State-certified, basic life support volunteer ambulance core, consisting of 40 active student members who are compassionate, well-trained, efficient, and responsive. Service and transport is provided to students at no cost.
Last reviewed: 1/4/2023
Eligibility
Columbia Health serves the University community by providing a range of programs and services for currently registered Morningside, Manhattanville, and Teachers College students, and by providing support for affiliate institutions, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and the K-8 School.
If you have paid the full-time Columbia Health and Related Services Fee, you may make an appointment to see a provider in Medical Services or a clinician at Counseling and Psychological Services. Students who have paid the part-time or half-time fee have access to the programs and services provided through Alice! Health Promotion, Sexual Violence Response, and Disability Services (except for Teachers College, Jewish Theological, and Union Theological Seminary).
Clinicians and other professional staff members can provide advice and help with many kinds of health issues, both serious and routine. We are happy to answer questions by phone or to meet with you to talk about more complex issues. Remember that we follow professional standards for protecting the confidentiality of students’ health information. Other sections of this website provide important information about the on-campus services provided through Columbia Health and the Columbia Student Health Insurance Plan.
We encourage you to become familiar with the health resources available to you both on-and off-campus.
Who Can Use Columbia Health
All full and part-time international students on the Morningside and Manhattanville campus, as well as Teachers College, Jewish Theological, and Union Theological Seminary, are automatically enrolled in the Columbia Student Health Insurance Plan (the Columbia Plan).
Certain requirements or restrictions may apply depending on the visa-type and designated status at Columbia (self-funded student, funded student, exchange student, visiting scholar, etc.). All international students are encouraged to a student affairs adviser at your school or an advisor at the International Students and Scholars Office to discuss their eligibility and concerns about accessing healthcare while at Columbia.
Teachers College students receive services through Columbia Health. Full-time students are automatically enrolled in Columbia Health and in the Columbia Student Health Insurance Plan. Domestic students may request a waiver if documentation of comparable insurance coverage is provided. Part-time domestic students can elect to enroll in Columbia Health and in the Columbia Student Health Insurance Plan.
Teachers College students receive the same services provided for other Columbia students except for disability services. At Teachers College, these services are provided through the Office of Access and Services for Individuals With Disabilities.
Immunization compliance and health insurance enrollment for are managed by Columbia Health.
Full-time Jewish Theological Seminary students are automatically enrolled in Columbia Health and in the Columbia Student Health Insurance Plan. Domestic students may request a waiver if documentation of comparable insurance coverage is provided. Part-time domestic students can elect to enroll in Columbia Health and in the Columbia Student Health Insurance Plan.
Enrollment is coordinated by the Jewish Theological Seminary Office of Human Resources. Once enrolled in Columbia Health, students receive the same services provided for Columbia students except for disability services. At JTS, these services are provided through the dean's offices in the individual schools. The JTS Student Counseling Center, under the auspices of the Office of Student Life, is committed to the delivery of psycho-social counseling services to students. Seminary students also have access to Counseling and Psychological Services at Columbia Health.
Jewish Theological Seminary students provide documentation of their compliance with immunization requirements to the JTS Office of the Registrar.
Full-time Union Theological Seminary (UTS) students are automatically enrolled in Columbia Health and in the Columbia Student Health Insurance Plan. Domestic students may request a waiver if documentation of comparable insurance coverage is provided. Part-time domestic students can elect to enroll in Columbia Health and in the Columbia Student Health Insurance Plan.
Enrollment is coordinated by the Union Theological Seminary Office of Student Life. Once enrolled in Columbia Health program, UTS students receive the same services provided for Columbia students, with the exception of disability services. At the seminary, these services are provided through the Office of Student Life.
Students provide documentation of their compliance with immunization requirements to the seminary’s Office of Student Life in Room 108 of the administrative building.
Students at Columbia University Irving Medical Center may utilize health and well-being resources from Student Health on Haven and are eligible to enroll in the Columbia Student Health Insurance Plan.
Two Columbia Health resources are available to Medical Center students: Disability Services and Sexual Violence Response.
Disability Services facilitates equal access for students with disabilities by coordinating accommodations and support services, cultivating a campus culture that is sensitive and responsive to the needs of students.
Sexual Violence Response has a location at the Medical Center campus. Sexual Violence Response works with the Center for Student Wellness to provide educational and skill-building workshops on the Medical Center campus. Sexual Violence Response can also provide referrals for Medical Center students to on-campus, community-based, and national support services.
Students participating in study abroad programs who are enrolled in the Columbia Health program may wish to review the Travel Medicine service at Medical Services to obtain advice about a health problem before traveling abroad. They should be aware that enrollment in the Columbia Student Health Insurance Plan will also provide students will On Call International insurance coverage. In addition, they should meet with their Columbia Health primary care physician before leaving if they need to discuss a chronic illness and prescription medication.
During the academic year, Barnard students receive services through Barnard College Student Health Service. Counseling services are provided by the Rosemary Furman Counseling Center, and disability services are provided by the Barnard Office of Disability Services.
During the summer, Barnard students may receive care for acute medical conditions at Columbia Health Medical Services. A fee is assessed and payable at the time of service, and is subsequently reimbursed to the student through the Barnard College medical insurance plan.
The Columbia Barnard Rape Crisis/Anti-Violence Support Center is a joint program of Barnard College and Columbia University and is located in the Barnard Quad (105 Hewitt Hall).
The School at Columbia supports a dynamic and nurturing community of learners in grades K-8. Columbia Health advises The School at Columbia on community-wide public health issues, but it cannot provide direct medical care or counseling services for students except in emergencies.
Last reviewed: 10/23/2023
Confidentiality
Confidentiality, Patient Rights, & Patient Responsibilities
Columbia Health adheres to strict standards of confidentiality regarding health-related information, services rendered, or any other privileged information to which Columbia Health has access. Please review the Notice of Privacy Practices, Patient Rights, Patient Responsibilities, and unit specific details below.
Communicating with Us
Throughout our website, we list email addresses as a convenient option for contacting Columbia Health. However, we cannot guarantee the confidentiality or immediacy of email communication, and therefore, email should never be used in an emergency.
Students: please use the secure messaging on the Patient Portal in lieu of email. You will need your UNI and password.
Notice of Privacy Practices
These records are not part of students’ educational records and are not available to deans or faculty. To further protect the privacy of students, we require students' written consent (for Counseling and Psychological Services as well as for Medical Services) to release information about their care.
There are rare exceptions to the right to privacy and to the confidentiality practices described above, such as in situations that pose a threat to life or in which there is reason to believe a child is being abused. If you have questions regarding our confidentiality policies, contact us:
- For Counseling and Psychological Services, questions may be directed to Associate Director for Operations at 212-854-2878.
- For Medical Services, questions may be directed to Director of Clinical Services at 212-854-7426.
- For more information about patients' rights and responsibilities, download the Patient Bill of Rights and the Patient Responsibilities resources.
Clinicians work as a team and consult with one another as needed. When necessary to insure the quality and coordination of care, there may also be communication between these two clinical services and other divisions of Columbia Health.
Each clinical service maintains secure and private treatment records. Read our Notice of Privacy Practices for more info.
The Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA) regulates disclosure of disability documentation and records maintained by Disability Services. Under this federal act, prior written consent by the student is required before Disability Services may release disability documentation or records, except under very specific circumstances. Read our Notice of Privacy Practices for more info.
Neither your registration with Disability Services nor approval for accommodations is indicated in any way on your Columbia transcript.
Sexual Violence Response is a New York State-certified rape crisis center, providing confidential crisis counseling, intervention, and advocacy on behalf of survivors of violence.
Under N.Y. CPLR § 4510 – New York State Rape Crisis Counselor Confidentiality, a rape crisis counselor shall not be required to disclose a communication made by his or her client to him or her, or advice given thereon, in the course of his or her services nor shall any clerk, stenographer or other person working for the same program as the rape crisis counselor or for the rape crisis counselor be allowed to disclose any such communication or advice given thereon nor shall any records made in the course of the services given to the client or recording of any communications made by or to a client be required to be disclosed, nor shall the client be compelled to disclose such communication or records, except:
- that a rape crisis counselor may disclose such otherwise confidential communication to the extent authorized by the client;
- that a rape crisis counselor shall not be required to treat as confidential a communication by a client which reveals the intent to commit a crime or harmful act;
- in a case in which the client waives the privilege by instituting charges against the rape crisis counselor or the rape crisis program and such action or proceeding involves confidential communications between the client and the rape crisis counselor.
Last reviewed: 1/7/2025