Students accustomed to using Spartan Cash for food purchases and tanning salon visits now have a new way to spend their money: at Lansing Urgent Care.
Although students might hope to avoid using their parents’ hard-earned money at the doctor’s office, Lansing Urgent Care, 505 N. Clippert St., noticed newly independent students often had difficulty with copays.
“It’s a common theme for students — they’re on their own for the first time going to the doctor without mom and dad for the first time and they aren’t well-versed in copays,” said Hillary Myers, director of business development for Lansing Urgent Care. “There’s a lot of time spent on the phone with mom and dad getting credit card numbers to pay the copay.”
John Henrickson, manager of Spartan Cash, said Lansing Urgent Care was a natural fit for the system considering it receives after-hours referrals from Olin Health Center, which participates in the Spartan Cash system. Myers said Lansing Urgent Care treats 10 to 15 students daily, and two have used Spartan Cash since it was implemented March 15.
Nick Thompson, a kinesiology junior, said Lansing Urgent Care’s use of Spartan Cash would be beneficial for students who increasingly rely on plastic instead of paper currency.
“I definitely think it’s a good idea,” he said. “It’s just another way to pay if you don’t have any money with you in case of an emergency.”
For a long time, Spartan Cash was reserved for restaurants and tanning salons, the latter of which Henrickson said was grandfathered into the program. He said Spartan Cash continues to receive applications from various businesses, but ultimately participants are determined by whether they will add value for students.
The addition of Lansing Urgent Care is a step toward expanding Spartan Cash services, Henrickson said.
“We hope to have some progress on that in the next few months,” he said, declining to specify what types of businesses have been targeted. “We want it to be successful for the business, but the primary consideration is adding convenience to the students.”
Several on-campus locations stray from Spartan Cash’s off-campus food and tanning mantra, such as residence hall laundries, Forest Akers Golf Courses, intramural sports facilities, MSU Tennis Center and MSU Bikes Service Center.
Megan Purdy, a special education senior, said including different types of businesses would enhance Spartan Cash’s applicability.
“It would be awesome if you could use your Spartan Cash for other services,” she said. “I can’t even count how many times I didn’t have any cash on me and Spartan Cash could have come in handy.”
Staff writer Ellen Mitchell contributed to this report.
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