Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Services range Student Hi BY WENDY HUDSON Staff Writer d There is a place at USC where c students have something in com- ^ mon with everyone else there. a Is it the library? No, some people ^ go there to nap, not to study. Is it the Grand Marketplace? ? Nah, that's more of a social club P than an eating establishment. How about the classrooms? c Right, most students go to class to v scout out a date for Friday night, 1 not to listen to the wonders of s ancient Greece. a Well, what is this place? c The Thomson Student Health Center. It's a soiia nei tnat everyone there is sick or injured and only there as a last resort. The center is one of the most used facilities at use. The center is only one part of Student Health Services, an office that offers comprehensive mental, physical and wellness health programs. The Transitional Living Center, the Health and Wellness Programming Office and the Counseling and Human Development 1 Center are the other Student Health ' Services departments. THOMSON STUDENT HEALTH ' CENTER The Thomson Student Health Center is for students who have urgent or routine health needs. "We want to see students consider the health center as their primary source of medical care while they are here at USC," said Bill Hill, interim director of Student Health Services. "While we do have certain limited capabilities, the center is staffed with highly trained personnel who can offer the basic services needed to provide primary, quality care." The center can provide services to almost anyone with a medical need. It provides general medical services, women's care, orthopedic care and physical therapy. A pharmacy, medical lab, radiology department, allergy clinic and a varietv of clinical support services are also offered. The general medical clinic is staffed by family practitioner physicians and nurse practitioners. A gynecologist and certified nurses work in the women's clinic and provide a range of routine and acute care. If the staff members can't handle a student's problem, they will refer the student to a specialist. Upper respiratory infections, or colds, are the most common reason students visit the center, according to Hill. Many students also seek treatment for stomachaches, earaches and genital problems. The physicians perform dermatology and treat cuts, abrasions, breaks and sprains. from counselin< * ealth Servi Early in the semester, most stu- tre ents coming to the center have olds, fevers and minor injuries, to iround midterms, flu season hits dei nd upper respiratory infections ter ecome a problem, Hill said. di< Students can save time and ener- bu y by using common sense and roper health habits. Hi "Lots of sickness and injuries on ould be saved by practicing pre- pa entive medicine," Hill said. "Not pa aking appropriate preventive mea- pr ures such as immunization, eating i proper diet and engaging in dan- let ;erous behavioral activities causes an th Lots of sickness and injuries ^ could be saved ** by practicing o preventative p. medicine s m many students to become sick or aj injured." Taking proper preventive measures against sexually transmitted diseases would decrease the number of patients visiting the center, according to Hill. o "Students need to practice good si health care," he said. 'They need to L continue to practice good, safe ti behaviors. We have had lots of ii problems with STDs. As young adults, students have to make right decisions to avoid complications and problems." In an effort to make the center more accessible to patients, a new appointment system was started this year. "We surveyed 600 students using the clinic last spring on how well we were doing, and most of the indications were favorable," Hill said. "The only complaint was that the waiting times were often long because we were taking patients on a walk-in basis." To relieve overcrowding and better prioritize patients, the center shifted to a combination of advanced appointments and sameday appointments. If a student has a recurring problem that needs periodic, routine monitoring, the student can schedule an appointment several days in advance. The same-day appointments will be made based on the the seriousness of the illness. Patients can be seen immediately, asked to wait 30 minutes or asked to come back later in the day. "This new approach is a much better utilization of our system," Hill said. "It's a lot better for our patients and a lot better for our staff. This way, students who are very ill can be seen sooner and ^ g to nursing cai ices offers ated faster." me The basic medical exams are free suf all full-time and part-time stu- Fui nts who have paid the health cen- gra fee. Lab tests, X-rays and other eig ignostic services must be paid for elij t are offered at a competitive fee. se\ "We are a low cost provider," 11 said. "We conducted a survey lab and X-ray costs and comred our fees to what you would y on the outside at a community ovider. gn "Even if you had gone to the Wi ist competitive provider, the total to nount of the tests compared on he; e outside would have cost ofi 70,000 more than the fees the ch :alth center charged. Students will in< ve a considerable amount of mon- fo ' when they visit the university's pa :alth center." Pr The Thomson Student Health enter is located beside the Russell ouse and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 m. Monday through Friday The inter is open from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. unday for emergency appoint- D< lents. Call 777-3174 to make an cc jpointment. fe th TRANSITIONAL LIVING b> CENTER an ce The Transitional Living Center in ffers skilled nursing care for vi sverely handicapped students at ISC. It is one of 10 24-hour facili- ai es in the nation that provides nurs- pi ig care to these students. ai The students live in an environ- 01 \ ~ ST l 1 l flV* re care for! nt that provides them with the >port they need to attend class, nded by Medicaid, the USC promt is designed to accommodate ;ht students who are Medicaid gible. Currently, the program has fen participants. HEALTH AND WELLNESS PROGRAMING Staffed by health educators and ? - -t. ~ it ? nu <-i lauaie assistants, uie ncaiui cuiu sllness Programming office seeks educate students about their alth and their bodies. The office fers wellness programs such as olesterol screenings, diet counsell and STD prevention. The newly rmed Sexual Assault Office is rt of the Health and Wellness ogramming office. COUNSELING AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT CENTER The Counseling and Human jvelopment Center offers trained unselors and mental health prossionals to help students deal with e pressures of college life. Staffed r five psychologists, a psychiatrist id a clinical social worker, the nter provides a range of counselg and mental health support serces. All services are free to full-time id part-time students who have lid the health center fee. Services e offered on a fee-per-use to all ther students. 1 m lis: > li I i I '?;% : I ' ' . ' .. ' "I .' , . students Pharmacies allow ?->+ ?/-i/-?tn + r?r* r? o _ oiuuciiio iu uanofer prescriptions and save on generic drugs by WENDY HUDSON Staff Writer There are many pharmacies at USC, including one at the Thomson Student Health Center. All campus pharmacies accept prescriptions written by area doctors and doctors from a student's hometown. To have a prescription transferred between Dhar macies, the doctor who wrote the original prescription must write a new one or call the pharmacy that the prescription is being transferred to and leave the order with the pharmacist on duty. Pharmacies are not allowed to transfer prescriptions. Generic drugs are a cost-saving option many students choose. Generic drugs offer the same benefits as name-brand drugs but are only a fraction of the price. Most pharmacies stock generic drugs and encourage their use. i] i \) \ -yi