Health & Wellness

Annual Seasonal Flu Clinic for Students

Seasonal influenza (“flu”) is a highly contagious viral illness marked by fever, muscle aches, cough, headache and fatigue. These symptoms often have a dramatically sudden onset and the illness usually lasts seven to ten days. Although influenza typically improves without complications, certain individuals, especially those with underlying medical problems including asthma or diabetes may develop complications, such as pneumonia. Ear infections and sinusitis may also develop with or following influenza.

The most effective preventative measure against seasonal flu is being immunized with seasonal flu vaccine.

This year, because of the ongoing concern about the 2009 H1N1 influenza (pandemic flu, swine flu), it is especially important for individuals (especially those at risk for flu complications) to be immunized with seasonal flu vaccine in addition to H1N1 vaccine when that vaccine becomes available. The novel H1N1 vaccine is not intended to replace the seasonal flu vaccine – it is intended to be used in addition to seasonal flu vaccine. Because both seasonal and H1N1 influenza can present with similar symptoms (cough, fever, body aches, sore throat) vaccination for seasonal flu will help to decrease the number of people who may receive a clinical diagnosis of H1N1 and be recommended for treatment and self-isolation.

The CDC recommends that younger people (we are recommending <30) get the seasonal flu vaccine as soon as it is available. Other adults may get the vaccine in mid to late October.

When the H1N1 vaccine becomes available we will notify the community of its availability and the vaccination planThe Davison Health Center and Department of Human Resources is sponsoring a Seasonal Flu Clinic for students, as well as faculty, staff and their dependents.  

VNA Healthcare will provide the clinical services and staff and Health Center staff will assist with clerical duties.

Information about the flu, flu vaccine, and notice of privacy practice can be found below by clicking on the appropriate link.  For faster service the day of the clinic, please print off and complete the Influenza Immunization Permission sheet and bring with you to the clinic.  Copies will also be available at the clinic site. Registration is not required. Please wear a short sleeve shirt for ease of access to your arm.

Date:         Mon., Sept. 21
Time:         12 – 4 p.m.
Location:  Usdan 108
Fee:           $37 (cash, check, or bill to student account)

Date:        Wed., Sept. 23
Time:         12 – 4 p.m.
Location:  Usdan 108
Fee:           $37 (cash, check, or bill to student account)

Date:         Tues., Oct. 13
Time:         4 – 7 p.m.
Location:  Usdan 108
Fee:           $37 (cash, check, or bill to student account)  

Click below for information about the flu clinic:  Flu Facts   Flu Vaccine Information   Influenza Immunization Permission (complete and bring to clinic)   VNA Privacy Disclosure Form

For more information, contact Joyce Walter, Health Center Director at x2656 or jwalter@wesleyan.edu

You have probably been reading about the continued potential for novel H1N1 influenza (swine flu) outbreaks in the U.S., especially in the school setting. We are continuing to monitor the situation and advise that you do also. More detailed information about H1N1 is available at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/, and http://www.ct.gov/ctfluwatch. Wesleyan has a plan which is in action and which we continue to refine in close consultation with local, state and national health officials and agencies.

Happily, H1N1 is mostly causing mild illness thus far. Our goals are to limit both the number of cases on campus and the severity of the cases we have. With that in mind, there are several important concepts we wish to communicate to students before their arrival on campus this year.

1. If you are sick with a flu-like illness, please delay your return to campus until you have recovered. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that individuals with influenza-like illness remain at home and away from other people until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever (100° F [37.8° C] or greater), or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medications. Influenza-like illness is defined as a fever plus cough and/or sore throat. Symptoms of the flu may include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people with influenza will not have fever. Absence of fever does not mean absence of infection. If in doubt, call your health care provider to discuss your symptoms. Students are encouraged to call the Davison Health Center (860) 685-2470.If you do need to delay your return, please contact your Class Dean and Davis Smith, Medical Director, Davison Health Center pdsmith@wesleyan.edu. Once you have recovered, we encourage you free to call the Davison Health Center (860) 685-2470 to speak with a Nurse and review that you are well enough to return to campus.
2. Discuss with your family a plan of action in the event you contract H1N1. Because self-isolation is such a key component of infection control with a pandemic, we highly encourage those able to do so to leave campus for a few days if they become develop a flu-like illness as defined above. We have contingency plans for sick students not able to leave campus.
3. Determine whether you are at high risk of complications from H1N1 infection. Pregnancy and other previously recognized high risk medical conditions from seasonal influenza appear to be associated with increased risk of complications from this novel H1N1. These underlying conditions include asthma, diabetes, suppressed immune systems, heart disease, kidney disease, and neurocognitive and neuromuscular disorders. Speak with your health care provider and determine whether or not you qualify as high risk of complications from H1N1 infection.
4. Have on hand supplies to take care of yourself or others in the event of illness. See: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance_homecare.htm.
5. Stay informed. We are preparing detailed information about H1N1 and Wesleyan’s response to this pandemic. These will be posted to [website] in the next few days and kept updated. We plan early distribution of seasonal influenza vaccine and hope to encourage wide uptake. Once an H1N1 vaccine becomes available, we will notify students of distribution plans. We stand ready to help Wesleyan students prepare for, prevent, manage and recover from H1N1 and any other health problem that may occur while they are on campus.

If you have additional questions, please contact:
Davis Smith, Medical Director, Davison Health Center
Joyce Walter, Director, Davison Health Center

The deadline of August 15 is fast approaching to comply with the student health insurance requirement.  All students must annually show proof of insurance (waive) or purchase the university-sponsored plan ($786) by going to www.gallagherkoster.com.

You should have received the information below which was mailed directly to your home address in June.  Please follow the instructions for accessing the web database by the August 15 deadline.  Thank you, Joyce Walter, Director, Davison Health Center

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On-Line Enroll/Waiver Process:  Go to www.gallagherkoster.com:

1)  Select College and University Students  2)  Select Wesleyan University from the dropdown box  3)  First time users are required to create a unique User Account.  To do this you will need to enter your first and last name, Wes student ID, date of birth and email address  4)  Click on “Log In” to create or access an account on this website  5)  Once logged in, click “Student Waive/Enroll Forms” on the left hand side of the page and select either the 2009-2010 Wesleyan University Undergraduate Annual Enrollment Form to enroll or Waiver Form to show proof of existing insurance  6)  If waiving the student insurance, you will need your other health insurance information in order to submit the Online Waiver Form  7)  Print your confirmation number page.

Questions?  Contact Gallagher Koster at 800-499-5062 or WesleyanStudent@GallagherKoster.com.

OBHS is located at 327 High Street (Davison Health Center).  Call 685-2910 to schedule an appointment.  Any Wesleyan student is entitled to use our services and all students are WELCOME!  You don’t need to be “falling apart” to make an appointment.  If you have an issue you’d like to discuss with a therapist, one of our staff will be available and interested in working with you.  OBHS practices a time-limited model of psychotherapy-this schedule seems to match the pace of student’s lives.  Our experience shows that a significant number of students find that five sessions are adequate for resolution of their issues while others need more time.  When optimal treatment frequency is greater than what OBHS can provide or if the student wishes to see someone off-campus, a private therapist should be considered and we encourage the student to discuss with OBHS what would be most helpful. 

OBHS appointments are scheduled for mornings or afternoons and we make every effort to offer an appointment to fit the student’s schedule-usually within a week.  If you have an urgent situation and indicate that it is urgent, an OBHS therapist will talk with you within a few hours at the most.  If you need to reschedule, postpone or cancel your appointment, give us as much advance notice as you can.  This helps other students (who may want an appointment) and allows OBHS to better serve you.  In case of an emergency after hours or on weekends, an OBHS therapist is always on call when the University is in session and can be reached by calling 685-2910 (listen carefully to the phone prompts that access the on-call therapist).

 If you have any questions or comments, please let us know.  See the OBHS website for more information:  http://www.wesleyan.edu/obhs .

The staff at the Davison Health Center wishes you a healthy and safe start to your academic career. The Health Center provides a full range of health care services by appointment. Check out our website to find out all we offer. Please call 860-685-2470 for appointments and information. The same phone number can be used after hours to reach the physician on-call.

The Health Center is staffed by physicians, nurse practitioners, a physician associate, and nursing personnel who provide comprehensive primary care services for illness or injury to students. The staff provides an array of clinical and health education services, including assessment and treatment of illnesses and injuries, health, wellness, disease prevention counseling, nutritional counseling, international travel counseling, immunizations, allergy injections, HIV testing and counseling, and referral to outside specialists. The Health Center provides basic laboratory testing and a dispensary for many prescription and over-the-counter medications for a small fee.

Please note that a $10 no-show fee for missed appointments is in effect. Be sure to cancel an appointment within 24 hours to assure you are not billed and to give other students an opportunity to have an appointment.

The deadline of July 15 is fast approaching for submission of health forms.  The forms can be downloaded at www.wesleyan.edu/healthservices/geninfo/forms/healthforms09.pdf .   Requirements include a physical exam and documentation of certain immunizations mandated by the State of Connecticut.  Please email mschukoske@wesleyan.edu or phone 860-685-2470 if you need an extension.