|
|
|
|
|
JULY 2012
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Keeping your Vanderbilt
student healthy and well
Congratulations Vanderbilt
parents,
Your student has selected an outstanding school. As parents ourselves, we
are aware of your need for information as you provide us the opportunity to
educate your student. An important aspect of learning in college is the
transition to increased independence. That transition can be stressful, and
our goal is to help students maintain healthy lifestyles that allow them to
achieve their academic, career and interpersonal goals at Vanderbilt.
The Office of the Dean of Students provides a
network of student health and wellness services. Students entering college
are faced with learning how to balance academics with free time. It is so
important for each student to learn how to make these decisions, and our
office provides a team of professionals to lend support and counsel when
needed.
Health and wellness can be viewed as a continuum ranging from wellness
promotion to prevention to treatment. Our objective is to provide a
comprehensive approach to foster a student culture of well-being along with
personal responsibility. We have a strong team to provide a safety net for
students, including the resident advisers, heads of house and academic deans
along with the teams at Residential Life, Vanderbilt Visions and The Martha
Rivers Ingram Commons at Vanderbilt. Our dedicated staff of medical professionals and mental health professionals is here to
assist your student. We educate students on the risks related to alcohol
and substance abuse and provide alcohol and substance use counseling.
Read on to learn more about our Psychological and Counseling Center, the
Zerfoss Student Health Center and Student Health and Wellness. If you have
questions, we're here to help. We look forward to meeting you as you move
your student onto The Ingram Commons or at any time when you are on campus.
Welcome to Vanderbilt!
Sincerely,
|
Catherine Fuchs, M.D.
Director, Psychological and Counseling Center
|
|
Louise Hanson, M.D.
Medical Director, Student Health
|
|
John Greene, M.D.
Associate Dean, Student Health and Wellness
|
|
|
|
|
Psychological and Counseling Center
Director: Catherine Fuchs, M.D.
(615) 322-2571
The center offers services to the university community that include
individual, group, family and child, and couples psychotherapy; psychiatric
services; vocational testing; LD/ADHD assessment; alcohol and drug
evaluations/counseling; community outreach; and organizational consulting.
The center also functions as a training facility for graduate practicum
students, pre-doctoral interns and post-doctoral residents. They are
supervised by our staff, licensed psychologists and other professionals.
 MAPS: Mental
Health Awareness and Prevention of Suicide is an initiative of the PCC to
prevent suicide in the campus community and promote mental health
awareness. The center received a federal grant to begin this program, which
aims to bring innovative changes to the area of suicide prevention.
|
|
|
For parents: Alcohol
awareness webinar
Please join us for a 45-minute webinar discussion
about alcohol on campus with guest speaker Dr. John Greene, associate dean
of Student Health and Wellness. PC users must have Windows 7, Vista,
XP or 2003 Server. Mac user need Mac OS X 10.5 or newer. To register,
please select the link with your preferred date below:
Thursday, August 2
3 p.m. Central time
Wednesday, August 8
1 p.m. Central time
Upcoming dates and
deadlines
July
18–August 28
Open enrollment/student change period
July
23–August 1
Phone-A-Thon
Expect a call from a Vanderbilt staff member to welcome your family!
August
1
Deadline to waive student health insurance plan
Deadline to submit student account agreement form
Early
August
Housing assignments mailed to students
Important links
The Road to Vanderbilt
The Ingram Commons
Class of 2016 Common Place
Parents and Family Programs
Housing
Dining
Bookstore
Commodore Card
Student Health
Student Accounts
|
|
|
The Office of Student Health and Wellness
Associate Dean: John Greene,
M.D.
(615) 322-0480
 The Office of
Student Health and Wellness works with the Psychological and Counseling
Center, the Student Health Center, the Office of Housing and Residential
Education and other campus partners to help coordinate emotional, physical
and social support services on campus.
A key focus is a comprehensive alcohol abuse prevention program utilizing a
holistic approach to health. Vanderbilt is among the universities participating
in the National College Health Improvement Project and its Learning
Collaborative on High-Risk Drinking. These initiatives are using
comprehensive evaluation and measurement techniques to identify and
implement the most effective ways to tackle a problem that affects four out
of 10 students and help lessen the harm that it causes.
First-year students start by participating in AlcoholEdu, an online educational course
that focuses on empowering students to make well-informed decisions
regarding alcohol. The program is available for access mid-July. Part I is
to be completed prior to arriving to campus. Part II is to be completed in
mid-October.
Throughout the year, numerous alcohol-free events are held both at The
Ingram Commons and on the main campus. Vanderbilt Recovery Support offers
distinctive opportunities for students in recovery through the Office of Wellness Programs and Alcohol Education.
Our goal is for all students to make safe and healthy choices about alcohol
while enjoying the college experience.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Student Health
Medical Director: Louise Hanson,
M.D.
(615) 322-2427
The Zerfoss Student Health Center serves the primary care needs of the
Vanderbilt student community. Its comprehensive care includes many services
that can often only be found in a hospital or specialist offices in most
communities. There are no office copays for routine visits, and all
registered students are eligible for care, regardless of insurance
coverage.
The health questionnaire was due
to Student Health on July 1. If your student has not completed this
yet, please do this as soon as possible by visiting this link.
The required annual waiver of the Gallagher Koster student health insurance
plan is due August 1.
If you do not waive the offered plan by that date, your student will be
enrolled in it. Learn more about the health insurance requirements and the
waiver process by visiting this link.
What
are the hours for the Student Health Center?
Monday through Friday: 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Saturday: 8:30 a.m.–noon (during academic year)
What does my student
do if she needs medical attention after hours?
If a student develops an urgent injury or illness after the clinic is
closed, a health care provider is available for telephone consultation at
(615) 322-2427. This answering service will take a message and forward
it to the on-call provider, who will give health-related advice and can
help the student determine if it's safe to wait until the next business day
for care or if the student should proceed to the emergency department or
local acute care clinic.
If your student experiences a severe illness or injury, he should go
immediately to the emergency room.
What services are
available at the Student Health Center?
- Acute care
- Routine
physical exams
- Women's
health exams and colposcopies
- Chronic
disease management
- HIV and STD
testing
- Allergy
shots
- Routine
immunizations
- Comprehensive
travel medicine services
- Specialty
services: sports medicine, nutritionists
- Ancillary
services: lab services, on-site dispensary, IV infusions, nebulizer
treatments
How much will a visit cost at the Student Health
Center?
There is no charge for office visits because the Student Health Center
receives its funding through a tax on tuition. Students may be charged for
in-house diagnostic testing (e.g. strep test, UA), procedures (e.g.
colposcopies), vaccines, medications and supplies. These are provided to
students at the health center's cost and are almost always less expensive
than co-pays that would generally be incurred at a clinic that bills
insurance.
Please be aware that the Student Health Center does not bill insurance
companies, and the providers are not members of any insurance provider
panels. If tests such as labs or X-rays are done at the Vanderbilt
University Medical Center, then the Medical Center will bill the student's
insurance plan.
How can my student
pay for charges incurred?
Students may pay for any charges incurred at the Student Health Center by
using cash, credit cards or their Commodore Card. Checks are not accepted.
What is the student
health insurance requirement?
Vanderbilt University is committed to promoting good health and meeting the
medical needs of its students. The unexpected occurrence and expense of a
medical condition can interrupt a student's academic career. That's why
Vanderbilt offers the Student Injury and Sickness Plan provided by Gallagher Koster. Vanderbilt University
requires all eligible students to be covered by a health insurance plan
that is comparable to or exceeds the Student Injury and Sickness Insurance
Plan.
If you choose to waive the Gallagher Koster plan, you must each year
provide proof of other comparable insurance. The waiver is due August 1.
How long is the
waiver good?
One year. The Gallagher Koster plan must be waived each academic year by
August 1. This assures that all students are adequately insured during
their years at Vanderbilt.
How do we decide
between our family's plan and the Gallagher Koster insurance plan?
There are many considerations for families as they think about their
student's health insurance coverage while away at college. Some
considerations include:
- Do the
Gallagher Koster benefits meet our needs?
The Gallagher Koster plan is in full compliance with the current
health care reform regulations, which requires coverage of $100,000
per illness/injury per year. Many private plans may have higher dollar
limits each year per illness/injury.
- Will my
family's plan cover my student at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
and are specialists at the Medical Center included on our panel of
covered physicians?
If the Medical Center is not included on a family plan, then a student
may need to obtain hospital or specialist care at another local
hospital, which is less than ideal for the young undergraduate student
who does not have a car.
- Does our
family plan have extensive pre-certification requirements (for tests
or specialty referrals) that may potentially be difficult to navigate
and potentially delay care?
Gallagher Koster requires referral from the Student Health Center but
requires no pre-certification from the insurance company itself.
- Which plan
makes the most financial sense for our family?
The Gallagher Koster plan costs less than $1,000 a year and has a
deductible of $200. Many private or employer plans have very high
deductibles and less robust coverage for medications. In some cases,
adding a student on a family plan costs more than the Gallagher Koster
plan.
Can my student get prescriptions
filled at the Student Health Center?
The Student Health Center stocks a number of commonly used medications that
our providers prescribe. These are provided to students at cost. Our
dispensary is not a pharmacy, so we cannot fill prescriptions written by
providers outside the Student Health Center unless the student is
established with a Student Health provider.
What pharmacies are
near campus?
There are several options.
Vanderbilt Outpatient Pharmacy: 1301 22nd Ave. S., (615) 322-6480
CVS Pharmacy: 426 21st Ave S., (615) 321-2590
Rite Aid: 2416 West End Ave., (615) 321-4505
Walgreens: 3010 West End Ave., (615) 269-9881
Harris Teeter: 2201 21st Ave. S., (615) 269-7818
What if my student
needs a referral to a specialist?
The Student Health Center providers maintain close relationships with the
Medical Center and community specialists and can provide students with
referrals.
What if my student
has a pre-existing condition?
The Student Health Center encourages students with any type of chronic
condition to establish a relationship with a physician at the center. This
physician can then help the student with ongoing management of many chronic
illnesses and referrals to specialists as needed. The Student Health
physicians are faculty members in the Department of Medicine and are
trained to take care of a wide variety of medical conditions.
|
|
|
|
Have something to say
about what you read here? Send us an email.
Parents & Family Programs
PMB 401627 | 2301 Vanderbilt Place | Nashville, TN
37240-1627
Parent Helpline: (877) 887-2736
|
|
|
