January 2003

Briefly speaking: To their health

The medical staff at the Cowell Student Health Center knows a lot about your student that isn't in the chart.

They know that your son may never have made his own doctor's appointment. They know that your daughter thinks her professor would never accept a late paper. They know that some freshmen make medical appointments because they just need to talk.

"We're like Mom away from home," says Maureen Greenhagen, a nurse who has cared for students for 19 years, and right now has an important message for parents.

"This year there has been confusion about health insurance," she explains. "Parents need to know that their students will be seen, whether or not they have purchased the university's health plan." A primary care appointment costs $5, urgent care $10. The student doesn't need to carry cash or a checkbook; services are billed to the student's account.

Beyond the health insurance issue, parents can help their sick student if they know basic facts about how the health center operates.

A student need not leave the sickbed to make an appointment. A phone call between 8 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. will connect the student with a triage nurse, who will arrange an appointment for the same day or later, depending on the severity of the illness. The triage nurse also offers advice by phone and medical verification for missed classes.

If the sick student visits the health center, he or she can see a triage nurse, who will check vital signs and make an appointment. The student may not see a doctor immediately, but same-day service is much more common than in most health-care facilities. "I'd love this place to be my HMO," says Dennice Caldwell, another long-time employee.

If a student is severely ill or has a highly contagious disease, such as chicken pox, health workers may arrange to send the student home, and they will contact professors to make the break possible. Sometimes tough decisions need to be made about whether or not to drop classes. And although students need to contact their dean's office for permission, the health center provides the paperwork.

The health center offers many clinics including dermatology, podiatry, orthopedics, sports medicine and women's health -- one of the busiest. If a student must be referred off-campus, health center staff will help make appointments and seek authorization from the student's insurance company. The health center also offers immunizations and flu shots.

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