In the fall of 2022, the Ambrose Health Center at UW-Whitewater made state news as a mini pony escaped the Sexual Health Carnival to take a tour of campus.

On Oct. 4, the Sexual Health Carnival, put on by University Health and Service Center and Ambrose Health Center, hosted on-campus health resources as well as health services from surrounding counties to educate Whitewater students on the importance of sexual health. Of course, it would not be a carnival without games, fortune tellers, and escape artist mini ponies.  

“We know that a large percentage of students in high school do not get the type of sex education that national health organizations 

recommend,” said University Health Center Director Julie Martindale. “We wanted to put on a fun event that teaches about the gamut of sexual health, not just condoms and STIs, but about teaching bigger things like getting your first pap smear, or transactional sex.”

Ambrose Health Center provides free or low cost testing for sexually transmitted infections for students, as well as provide students with further information about the importance and next steps for sexual health. 

Similarly, the center works with health centers in surrounding counties to provide additional student support and information.

Tiffany Hill from the Walworth County Health Department shared about how the testing done on the Whitewater campus gets sent to labs within their department, and further steps are decided upon.

“When students from UW-Whitewater come in and get tested for STIs, we receive the lab set up at Walworth county and reach out to the students to provide education and verify treatment,” said Hill. 

While no miniature horses escaped the carnival this year, Martindale shared that the students at the event were “very engaged and asking questions.”

The Ambrose Health Center is open year round from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to all students on campus.

“If students want to come in or have any other questions about sexual health they can make an appointment to come ask questions,” said Martindale. “We’re just like any clinic in your hometown, so if anybody has any issues that they want to come in for, whether it’s just a physical exam or they have a cough or cold they can’t get their head around, we’re here to help.”

For more information about the Ambrose Health Center and their services, visit their website at the UHCS site.