Dear parents,
Welcome to Spring semester! From everyone here at the Pat Walker Health Center, we hope you and your student(s) had a wonderful break, and are ready for the exciting weeks ahead.
For those who have not read my previous letters in the New Student & Family Program newsletter, my name is Dr. Huda Sharaf. I am the medical director for the health center. Periodically, I like to submit a letter to new parents and students to inform them about various public health concerns for our campus community.
As you’re probably aware, each enrolled student pays a mandatory health fee of $7.25 per credit hour. This fee enables the Pat Walker Health Center to provide high-quality, accessible health care and primary prevention services for the campus community.
While the student health fee does not cover all services offered at the health center, it is essential for sustaining programs related to public health surveillance, including communicable disease, sexual health, mental health, and alcohol and other drug use.
As key members of our campus community, I wanted to give you an update about two of the public health concerns we are focusing on this semester:
Flu shots and practicing good respiratory hygiene are the best way to avoid getting sick this semester
We are starting to see an increase in flu cases on campus, so we are actively promoting our flu vaccines to the campus community. While our walk-in flu clinic has ended, we still have vaccines available and are encouraging anyone who hasn’t received theirs, to schedule an appointment with our Allergy, Immunization & Travel clinic at 479-575-7723.
We are also actively educating the campus community about the importance of good respiratory hygiene such as washing hands regularly, covering coughs and sneezes, and avoiding contact with others who are sick.
STIs are at an all-time high in the United States
Another area we are proactively focusing on this semester is sexual health, and more specifically sexually transmitted infections (STI). We have launched a new clinic designed to help students understand the importance of getting tested for STIs.
The “Get Yourself Tested” (GYT) clinic is an easy and convenient urine testing clinic for asymptomatic chlamydia and gonorrhea — the two most common STIs among college students.
GYT is a national campaign designed to increase awareness about STIs and how to prevent them, as well as encourage students to get tested. After all, sexually active young people account for half of the 20 million new STIs occurring in the U.S. each year – and most don’t know they are infected.
I encourage you to learn more about this impactful campaign, and to talk with your student about the importance of STI prevention and getting tested. When left untreated, STIs can potentially cause long term health problems.
The GYT clinic is available from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday the health center is open.
So what’s next?
Our goal is to continually keep our campus community informed about public health concerns. The health, safety and well being of our campus community are our top priorities, and we take every precaution necessary to ensure our students, faculty and staff have the best education and access to resources available to protect themselves and others.
As parents, our hope is you join us in our efforts to educate students on the importance of health and wellness!
As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the health center at 479-575-4451.
On behalf of the entire staff at the Pat Walker Health Center, we wish you a happy and healthy spring semester.
Sincerely,
Dr. Huda Sharaf
Medical Director
Pat Walker Health Center