Student Health Services a valuable GCSU amenity

On a campus wracked with ravaging sniffles and bestial coughs, the GCSU student has a haven in Student Health Services. GCSU’s Health Services building, has both the staff and quality supplies to treat any enrolled Bobcat’s aches, shakes, bumps and bruises.

“I’m a nursing student, so I get all my physicals done here,” nursing major Jeffery Dowdy said. “It’s way faster than a private doctor, and it’s already paid for.”

Physicals are just one of the many services offered at by Student Health Services. The center boasts an operational faculty of fully-qualified professional nurses, one of whom is director Alice Loper, who has been the director of Student Health Services for the past eight years.

“We offer episodic care for mild illnesses, mild injuries, specific symptoms, and monitoring for chronic illnesses (such as diabetes),” Loper said.

However, while the center can treat an abundance of ailments, in some cases students will have to make use of the local urgent care center, when x-ray equipment, among other things is required.

“We can handle all the typical college student illnesses – cold, sore throat, cough, bladder infection and the like,” Loper said.

Health Services also handles the seasonal flood of flu patients.

“The patient count this year has doubled since the last flu season. We have sent around 80 students home with swine flu; most all of them are doing well now,” the director said.

However, treatment is not all that Student Health Services does. A huge part of the service is its educational aspect, at the helm of which is Rachel Sullivan MED, CHES.

“I’m in charge of health promotion and health education,” Sullivan said. “I do a lot of programming in the residence halls, co-sponsoring of events and classroom education.”

Yearly programs put on by or co-sponsored by Health Services include Health Fun (which is planned for the spring), Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Try It You’ll Like It Month, and WHATS (Wellness and Health Activities and Things) going on this semester. WHATS, in particular, is drawing excitement from the Health Services staff, as it is the newest pro-exercise effort and is a joint project with the Wellness Depot.

“All of these events are fun and free,” added Sullivan. “Students should not be hesitant to take advantage of all that Health Services has to offer.”

In addition to treating afflictions and educating the masses on healthier life choices, Health Services also gives out plenty of freebies, from hand sanitizer to condoms to brochures on a wide range of heath-related topics. There are also many models, of everything from organs and bones, to cigarette tar and lung phlem, that are available to students to both peruse and rent.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 25 2009. Filed under Health & Science. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry