Health & Safety

The Student Health Center (SHC) is the primary health care center for Georgetown students. Staffed by a team of Family Practice faculty physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, and support personnel, these professionals are dedicated to working with students and providing quality health care. Students can receive the same scope of services that they expect in their family physician’s office.

The SHC is located on the Ground Floor of Darnall Hall. Check the Student Health website for specific hours of operation. When the clinic is closed, students can call the emergency/after hours clinician at (202) 444-PAGE.

The clinic encourages students to make an appointment in order to receive the most time and attention, although urgent problems are attended to on a walk-in basis.

The SHC is an outpatient facility; if a student requires longer observation or overnight care, he or she is admitted to and cared for by physicians at the Georgetown University Hospital. Services include routine office visits, preventive health care, a variety of procedures and laboratory work, immunizations, and referrals. An outpatient pharmacy is located at Georgetown University Hospital (GUH). In the event of an emergency, care is available at the GUH Emergency Room and at other area hospitals (student and health insurance provider are responsible for cost of emergency room visits). GERMS, a student-run volunteer ambulance service, provides transport to Georgetown University Hospital.

SHC charges for all services provided at the clinic. Students and parents should make the determination that their existing health insurance provides adequate coverage to include the cost of primary health care in the Washington, DC area. The University has arranged for an insurance plan that provides sufficient coverage should the student or parents so desire. Remember to submit your Immunization and Tuberculosis Screening Certificate to the Student Health Center. The form can be found on the Student Health Center website.

Georgetown University requires graduate students in a degree program who are registered for eight or more credit hours, or in thesis research, to have health insurance coverage. This requirement assures some relief of the burden of expensive health care to the students. Students who are required to have health insurance will be mandated to enroll in a 12 month plan if they do not have other insurance that is in effect prior to September 15. The Premier Plan's Sickness and Injury benefits include worldwide coverage, national PPO network discounts, and pharmacy card prescription coverage.

CAPS serves as the University’s primary mental health service for its students and campus community. Our mission is to collaborate directly with students in overcoming difficulties that may interfere with the accomplishment of their educational, personal, and career goals. CAPS strives to provide students with opportunities to develop greater self-understanding, identify and solve problems, and improve academic performance through the alleviation of psychological, emotional, and cognitive impediments.

CAPS offers a range of psychological and psychiatric services including:

1. psychological evaluations, individual and group psychotherapy, and referral;
2. medication consultation and follow-up;
3. outreach and campus consultation; and
4. crisis assessment and intervention.

Georgetown University provides a clean, comfortable space designated for nursing mothers to pump while they have to be away from their babies due to work or school. The room accommodates up to 3 women at one time and is available for any GU staff, faculty, or student with a valid GUID.

The Lactation Room on Main Campus is located on the 2nd floor of the Car Barn in Room 206B behind Einstein Bagels and is available Monday through Friday, from 8:00am until 9:00pm, and Saturdays from 8:00am until 5:00pm. It is equipped with a sink, comfortable seating, and ample electrical outlets near each chair. Nursing mothers will need to provide their own pump. Storage of personal belongings or milk in the room is not allowed.

For purposes of security and privacy, the lactation room is always kept locked. In order to gain access to the room, nursing mothers will need to register at one of 4 locations on campus (listed below) to present a valid GUID, provide contact information and receive a code to enter the room. This code will be changed approximately every 4 months and women who have registered will be asked to re-register to receive the new code.

Health Education Services is comprised of health professionals who are available to help students deal with a range of health issues, including sexual health, pregnancy, alcohol and drug use and abuse, eating disorders, sexual assault, relationship violence, stalking, stress, management, and general health promotion. All services are individualized, confidential, and free for students.

GERMS is a student-run, all-volunteer ambulance service that provides free emergency care and transport to anyone calling from the campus and surrounding community, including the neighborhoods of Georgetown (west of Wisconsin Avenue), Foxhall, and Burleith. It operates seven days a week, 24 hours per day. All members are certified as Emergency Medical Technicians at the basic life support level (EMT-B) or higher. GERMS regularly responds to a wide variety of medical emergencies with an average response time of less than five minutes.

Georgetown University Police Department’s mission is to protect the Georgetown University community, ensuring a safe and secure learning and living environment through trusting partnerships and professional police services.

The Georgetown University Police Department (GUPD) provides security and police services on the Georgetown University Main and Medical Center campuses and off campus properties. Utilizing foot patrols, vehicles, and bicycles, the officers patrol the campus twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

The Georgetown University Police Department officers are commissioned special police, vested through the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department with full powers of arrest on campus property. GUPD works closely with the Metropolitan Police Department and District of Columbia Fire Department to prevent and deter crime on campus and in the surrounding communities and respond quickly to incidents that may arise.

The Georgetown University Police Department is located on the first floor of Village C West.

Georgetown uses an integrated approach to safety and security on campus and in the surrounding community, coordinating a network designed to provide a safe environment, to prevent problems before they occur, to respond swiftly and effectively when problems arise and to maintain essential services and business operations after a serious incident.

Key Resources:

• University Operating Status: http://www.georgetown.edu/operating-status/index.html
• HoyaAlert: HOYAlert is the university's emergency notification system. Receive important, emergency information via text message, non-GU voicemail, and non-GU email. Enroll at https://netid-mgmt.georgetown.edu/emergencycontact/