6/25 Weekly Update: Health and Wellbeing
Bottom Line, Up Front
- Upcoming key dates or action items for families and/or students
- Introduction to Deacon Health
- Healthcare-related tasks to do this summer before your student comes to school
- Ensure your student knows their medical history
- Help your student understand the basics of navigating a doctor’s appointment independently
- Prepare a medicine kit for their room
- Have a conversation with your student about consent
Dear parents and families of incoming students,
It’s Tuesday, which means we have our weekly update for new families. Let’s get to it!
Upcoming key dates or action items for families and/or students
Here’s what you should know this week.
- [for families]
- Sign up to attend one of our Workday sessions on financials – this will show you how to pay tuition and more. (If you are not able to attend either virtual session, the Student Financial Services website will provide detailed instructions on how to access Workday for authorized third-party users closer to July.)
- [for students]
- Foreign Language Placement Test due July 1
- Deadline to submit disability-related housing and dining accommodation request with supporting documentation due July 1
- As a reminder, our ability to meet a student’s needs is much more limited after housing assignments have been made, so we strongly encourage students to request accommodations by the July 1 deadline.
Introduction to Deacon Health
- CONGRATULATIONS, INCOMING FAMILIES! Your student has made it through their K-12 education and they have made it to college! You, as families and loved ones, have been a huge part of getting them here.
- Deacon Health is here to help keep your students as healthy as possible. When they are sick, we’ll do everything we can to get them back to 100%. But more importantly, Deacon Health will provide your students with the essential knowledge and skills to form lifelong habits that lead to sustained wellbeing.
- Deacon Health functions as your students’ Primary Care Physicians during their time at Wake Forest. Experts in college student medicine, our board-certified providers can perform an array of services, including primary care visits, care for acute illnesses and minor injuries, STI screening and treatment. Students also have access to immunizations, X-Ray, pharmacy, and laboratory services at our facility. If a student has a complex case, we can and will collaborate with established local providers when needed.
- We want to help new families get your students ready to navigate their healthcare needs. We hope this information will help you – and them – with the transition to having students being in charge of their own healthcare.
Healthcare-related tasks to do this summer before your student comes to school
Ensure your student knows their medical history
- Make sure your student is aware of their medical history, including allergies to medications, if they have seen a specialist for a certain condition, etc. Knowing their medical history will help your student be able to talk more effectively with their care providers: by giving their healthcare team accurate information about their medical history, that can help providers know what to look for re: chronic conditions, allergies, potential drug interactions, and more.
- If your student has ongoing chronic conditions, please have your student make an appointment with Deacon Health for a well visit to get established with our office. It is most helpful for our providers to see students managing chronic conditions when they are well, not sick; this allows us to discuss the condition, go over previous treatment/care, etc. This will also help us connect with a local specialist if needed or consult with their home specialist without managing additional illness at the same time.
Help your student understand the basics of navigating a doctor’s appointment independently:
- Students must call to make their own medical appointments if they are over 18. In the event they do not see any appointments in the Deacon Health portal, they should call the office and follow the prompts to speak to the Front Desk to see if there are any additional appointments.
- Students should always carry their insurance card to medical appointments (or have a photo of both sides of the card on their phone). While Deacon Health does not accept insurance or file claims, students must have either their insurance card (or the information from the card saved on their phone) if they go to see providers off campus (e.g., urgent care, a dermatologist, outpatient imaging, or the Emergency Department).
- Students must show up on time to scheduled appointments. Late arrivals could require rescheduling the appointment and/or a late charge. At Deacon Health and off-campus providers alike, medical appointments are tightly scheduled.
- Students should arrive at Deacon Health 15 minutes before their scheduled appointment to have time to complete the check-in process. Late arrivals will incur a late charge and could be rescheduled.
- If a student forgets an appointment or is a no-show, they will be charged a cancellation fee. While the cancellation/no show fee at Deacon Health is low, that cost can be significant at an off-campus provider. Getting students used to being responsible for remembering appointments now, while the stakes are lower (but they still have some skin in the game) will help avoid unpleasant surprises with off-campus providers.
- Most medical visits require payment at the time of service.
- Most services at Deacon Health are covered by the Student Health Fee. However, there are some discounted “fee-for-service” charges for medications, laboratory tests, observation care, procedures and some supplies. Payment can be made by cash, check, credit/debit cards, Student Blue Insurance, or charged to the student’s account.
- For off-campus providers, students will need to bring a form of payment (typically cash or credit/debit card) to pay for their appointment.
- Keep their receipts and paperwork. It is important to keep medical records of treatment, and if your student is on your insurance plan (as opposed to Student Blue), you will need a copy of the receipt so you can submit a claim.
Prepare a medicine kit for their room
It’s always a good idea to send essential items with them to school for when they get sick because they will get sick at some point! Here are some suggestions:
Basic first aid supplies
- thermometer
- Band-Aids
- antibiotic ointment
- gauze pads
- eye drops
- ice pack that can stay in their freezer
- heating pad (or warmies that can be put in microwave)
- A & D ointment helps with chafing
Over-the-counter medicines
- pain medicine/fever reducer (Note: Deacon Health also has over-the-counter medications that students can purchase if needed)
- benadryl/antihistamines
- cold and cough medicine
- cough drops
- digestive meds (anti-diarrheal, heartburn, etc.)
Other items
- A supply of any prescription medications they take regularly (may transfer RX to Deacon Health or get re-fills)
- At-home COVID test(s)
- A supply of replenishing drinks (such as Gatorade)
- Food they could eat in the room when not feeling well: things that don’t require a lot of preparation (soup, crackers, granola bars, apple sauce pkt, etc.). Those could sit, untouched, in a container in their closet or under the bed so they’d be ready when your Deac needs them (and does not want to have to go to the Pit to get lunch or dinner).
- Liquid IV Hydration or many other brands (powder to put in water to help hydration)
- Moist Wipes for the bottom (do not flush)
Having these items on hand will help them when they are not feeling well. But of course, Deacon Health is also here to help them if they need us!
Have a conversation with your student about consent
- While not due until July 10th, I want to remind you about it now, as consent is a very important topic in the area of health and wellbeing. Some of my colleagues on campus have created a Consent Conversation Guide to help:
- “Wake Forest is committed to a safe environment for all students. While we have a duty to provide education to students, we recognize that as a parent or caregiver, you are and will continue to be the primary influence in your student’s life.
- College is a time for your student to gain new experiences, build new friendships, and make new memories that will last a lifetime. This resource will provide you with tools to help you prepare for an open dialogue with your student about consent. It includes important information on University policies and procedures, the importance of discussing consent, and how consent is affected by substance use.”
- It’s important to stress that having a conversation about consent does not mean we are asking your student to be sexually active! Consent can be about a kiss or other activity short of actual sex. And we know that every student and family has their own values where matters of sexuality are concerned. What we want is to help students understand what consent looks like, how to give it, and how to be sure that when the time comes (whenever that may be) that both parties are consenting. You as parents, family members, and loved ones can help reinforce those concepts through this conversation guide.
Parting thoughts
We will continue sending messages to our new families each week this summer with reminders of key action items and other information we hope will be helpful. In case you missed one of our weekly messages, they are all archived here.
With best wishes,
Betsy Chapman, Ph.D. (‘92, MA ‘94)
Executive Director of Family Communications