Monday, Nov. 9, 2009
Utah Statesman The The
Campus Voice Voice Campus since 1902 1902 since
Utah State State University University •• Logan, Logan, Utah Utah •• www.aggietownsquare.com www.aggietownsquare.com Utah
Free H1N1 vaccines as part of Health Week By MARK VUONG copy editor
Free H1N1 vaccinations will be available to students at the lounge across from the Taggart Student Center (TSC) Ballroom Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Student Health Week, hosted by the Student Health and Wellness Center, will run from Nov. 9-12, and it will encompass a bevy of activities, from lectures to free food and T-shirts. The director of the center, Jim Davis, said the week is to inform students about the center and what services are available to them. “When we survey our students ... they like what we do, they like how we do it,” Jim Davis said. “The problem we find is that many students on campus don’t simply know about us.” The building where the center resides in, 850 E. 1200 North, was once inhabited by Cache Valley Specialty Hospital, Davis said. The university purchased the building in 2000, after the hospital moved to its current location at 2380 N. 400 East. The Student Health and Wellness Center used to be two separate entities, known as Student Health Center and Student Wellness Center, Davis said. The two were located in the TSC. He said the two centers merged because of a budget cut. “Universities being what universities are, they said, Well, we got two departments let’s just combine them and have one director and save some money,” Davis said. Full-time USU students pay between $381 to $392 in student fees per semester and $36 go toward the Student Health and Wellness Center, according to a document from the Office of Budget and Planning. The fee allows students to use the center without having to pay visitation fees, Davis said. The center offers physical, massage and psychiatric therapy, X-rays, general health care, minor surgeries, nutrition counseling, health education, among others. Students can visit whether they have health insurance, Davis said; however, uninsured students shouldn’t rely on it and neglect purchasing insurance. “If you come in here with a broken bone and I can’t fix it or none of the staff can fix it, we’re going to have to get you to see a specialist,” Davis said. “And (the specialist is) going to hope you have insurance or access becomes a real problem. It’s been 20 years since I’ve taken out an appendix. I don’t think you want me practicing on you for that.” Davis recalled a time when a female patient came in for a sore foot. The X-ray, which cost about $60, was normal but she needed a CT scan and the specialist didn’t have resources to provide the scan “because it’s beyond the scope of the health center,” he said. The center is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Davis said uninsured students are “out of luck” if they get injured after business hours. Walk-ins are allowed; however, Davis said visitors should schedule an appointment, else they may be waiting for an hour. Davis said visitors shouldn’t be hesitant to inform the respective specialist of what is wrong. “It’s not going to be embarrassing to us, it’s not going to be unusual to us, it’s not going to be something way out – it’s stuff we understand,” he said. The center also has its own self-sufficient pharmacy, Davis said, which has most medicines and can order them if it doesn’t.
MATT JOLLEY, LEFT, receives an H1N1 vaccination from Dinnene Jensen Friday in the Student Health and Wellness Center. As part of Student Health Week, free flu shots will be administered Wednesday in the lounge across from the Taggart Student Center Ballroom, provided the shots come in on time. ANI MIRZAKHANYAN photo
“Medicines are given to students at cost,” Davis said. “There’s no mark up so it’s whatever the medicine costs. We come pretty close to competing with the $4 generics of Wal-Mart, but we don’t always beat that price.” Although students do not have to pay any additional fees, they are required to pay for the supplies used, he said, such as film for X-rays, needles, bandages and stitches. The student fee pays for the employees’ salaries. Spouses and children of USU students can also use the Student Health and Wellness Center if they each pay $45 per semester, allowing them to receive the same services students do, he said. On Monday, there will be free healthy snacks being distributed in two locations on campus, said USU public relations senior Jodi Burton, who is the PR and marketing team lead for Student Health Week. The snack will be string cheese from Schreiber and it will be handed out in the TSC and Merrill-Cazier Library. A lecture will take place Tuesday in the TSC Auditorium from noon to 1 p.m., and free pizza, courtesy of University Catering, will be served to all who come, she said. Ryan Barfuss, prevention specialist, and another employee of the Student Health and Wellness Center will speak about the services offered and will
share basic information about the H1N1 flu, she said. Attendees will be allotted 30 minutes at the end of the lecture to ask questions. Thursday will be a repeat of Wednesday’s activities. Burton said this time it will be Davis speaking. Burton said there will be a limited number of free T-shirts handed to students who get vaccinated and who attend the lectures. “The Wellness Center isn’t making anything off of (this). They just want to create awareness, get their name out there and make sure students know that they’re there for them,” Burton said. There is an uncertainty of whether the H1N1 vaccinations will arrive in time for Wednesday, she said. If they do not arrive in time, Wednesday’s free shots will be moved to Friday, she said. A Blood Battle is taking place in the TSC International Lounge Monday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., save for the last day which will end at 8 p.m. Jodi warned if students want to give blood they will have to donate before being vaccinated. – mark.d.vuong@aggiemail.usu.edu
Donation event to help financially struggling CAPSA By CATHERINE MEIDELL assistant news editor
Community Abuse Prevention Service Agency (CAPSA) has been a safe haven for about 450 people who suffer from domestic violence every year, said Tracy Hernandez, CAPSA’s operation and marketing director, and with minimal federal and state grants the agency relies heavily on community members’ helping hands to remain a functioning organization. Two USU Ph.D. students studying family and human development, Krista Gurko and Sarah Tulane, have organized an event to reach out to those affected by domestic abuse, especially children, by encouraging students and community members to donate cleaning and hygiene products. The Clean Drive: Incredible Inedibles will start Nov. 9 and end Nov. 22. Donations can be made in designated boxes located throughout campus, one found in the basement of the Taggart Student Center (TSC). “We figured a lot of the stuff they are getting is food this time of year. We wanted to do something that would impact past the holidays,” Tulane said.
Inside This Issue
11/09/09 The USU Geology Club educates the community on rocks and minerals. Page 5
Gurko said she is new at USU and has since to stay on or heat,” Hernandez said. been inspired by others’ service on campus to She said ever since CAPSA has realized the reach out to those in need. She said she hopes severe need to stretch its budget as far as possiwhat is accumulated over the two-week period ble, the staff began working by sunlight rather will help those at CAPSA have a more enjoyable than lightbulbs and turned the heater down a holiday without the stresses few degrees. This has saved of not having a napkin to CAPSA about 50 percent wipe their hands on from of its electric bill compared “A lot of times, their Thanksgiving dinto the previous fiscal year, people come into ner or paper plates to store Hernandez said. the shelter with the leftovers on. The items For Gurko and next to nothing, donated to CAPSA will not Tulane’s project, CAPSA only help the families while was the perfect advocate to just the clothes on they are living in CAPSA’s receive the inedible donatheir back.” facilities, they will be able to tions, Tulane said. She said take the items along when she wanted to find families they leave. – Tracy Hernandez, in high-stress situations CAPSA is always excited a place where the projCAPSA’s operation and and to receive donations, ect could benefit the lives marketing director of children. When people whether it be food, clothing or products The Clean Drive are escaping from dangerwill provide, Hernandez ous situations involving said. She said CAPSA receives minimal grants, domestic violence, Tulane said they don’t think $6,000 a year for food when they must serve to themselves, Do I have my daughter’s tooth26,000 meals. brush with me? “Basically, we rely heavily on donations, Daily household items can be taken for even for the infrastructure of our building. Federal funds pay for the bulk of salaries and - See CAPSA, page 3 doesn’t pay for building repairs, for the lights
USU’s basketball team beats Trinity Western in another exhibition game Saturday. Page 9
www.aggietownsquare.com Blue and White Sports Debate is your favorite sports talk show ... that you can read! Check it out at www.aggietownsquare.com Official Student Newspaper of Utah State University • “It’s All The News You Need!”