Board learns students' health in good hands

University Park, Pa. -- The majority of Penn State students appear to be very satisfied with the University’s medical and psychological health services, reported Vicky Triponey, vice president for student affairs, at Penn State’s Board of Trustees meeting (July 9) on the University Park campus.

Informational presentations by Margaret Spear, director of University Health Services (UHS), and Dennis Heitzmann, director of the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), provided specifics about the University’s efforts to address and improve students’ physiological and psychological well-being.

From sports and recreational injuries to anxiety and stress, a variety of physical and emotional health issues impact the nation’s college and university students, said Triponey. Not surprisingly, Penn State students are not exempt from these ailments, as is evidenced by the 65 percent of University Park undergraduate students who report using UHS and 12 percent who report using CAPS.

While the circumstances under which students seek out these services may not be pleasant, their experiences at UHS and CAPS are much more satisfying. Triponey said the majority of students utilizing University Park campus services reported being very satisfied with the services they had received at UHS (77 percent satisfaction) and CAPS (74 percent).

As students’ healthcare needs become more complex, the services offered by both UHS and CAPS have become much broader and comprehensive. For instance, UHS has added a 24/7 telephone advice nurse, transitioned to electronic medical records, and started providing appointment setting online and sexual assault forensic exams. CAPS has also gone paperless with a fully automated case record/database/appointment system. In addition, funding has been approved to maintain a full-time sexual assault counselor position, thus solidifying these services at University Park and enhancing consultative services University-wide.

With more than 150,000 student “encounters” reported during the 2002-03 school year, UHS continues its mission to enhance student understanding and management of illness, minimize illness and promote health via healthy lifestyle choices, and promote community health, said Spear.

UHS functions as the primary healthcare system for a community of more than 40,000 young adults. Eighty part-time and 120 full-time staff at two locations provide: clinical care; ancillary onsite offerings, such as x-ray and laboratory services; preventative health, patient education and outreach services; specialty services coordinated through referral to community resources; 24/7 services; and consultation and support services.

Spear reported that clinical appointments accounted for UHS’s highest volume of services with more than 57,000 appointments tallied during 2002-03. Pharmacy prescription services followed a close second with almost 48,000. Other high-volume services provided included telephone advice nurse calls (24,416), ancillary services (20,549), preventive healthcare appointments (3,039) and ambulance trips (805). More than 2,400 total individual and group education programs and services, an integral part of UHS’s mission, were also provided during this time.

Out of 50,000 total visits, the most common reason students went to UHS in 2002-03 was for respiratory infections, which accounted for 17 percent of all cases. Rounding out the most common UHS appointments were those for vaccinations, women’s preventive health exams, general physical exams, and treatment for sprains/strains, allergies/asthma and skin problems.

Spear substantiated Triponey’s initial statements about UHS’s high satisfaction rate among students by sharing some moving testimonials. “I am on my way to full recovery from meningitis--––due to the wonderful staff at UHS,” said one student. “Their recognition of my serious condition and their immediate response quite literally saved my life. Everyone at UHS was professional, caring and compassionate.”

Students appear to be equally as pleased with the services provided to them by CAPS, which is staffed by psychologists, psychiatric providers, social workers, a sexual assault specialist, an addictions specialist and a number of advanced graduate-level trainees. Providing services such as individual therapy, group therapy, psychiatric services, crisis intervention, psycho-education outreach programs and consultation, CAPS registered more than 2,000 students in formal treatment in 2003-04. Individual and group counseling accounted for almost 70 percent of these cases.

The most common clinician-reported diagnoses were mood disorders (30 percent), anxiety disorders (19 percent), and life circumstance problems and adjustment disorders (each at 15 percent). Substance abuse, eating disorders, personality disorders, sexual abuse and attention deficit disorder accounted for lesser percentages of clinical diagnoses.

Heitzmann shared that 70 percent of students reported the treatment they received at CAPS improved their ability to cope with stress, as well as strengthened their ability to pursue their goals (64 percent), their self-confidence or self-esteem and their friendships (both 63 percent).

Additionally, more than 50 percent reported their CAPS experience helped to improve academic performance, romantic relationships and family relationships.

By sharing students’ personal reactions to their CAPS experience, Heitzmann further emphasized the vital role the center performs on campus. One student said, “My life has been transformed thanks to my experiences with [CAPS staff]. The difference is like night and day. I was able to overcome my anxiety and depression … to the point that now I enjoy every day to the utmost.”

For more information about UHS or CAPS visit http://www.sa.psu.edu/uhs/ or http://www.sa.psu.edu/caps/