2007-2008 Health Fee Report
University at Buffalo Comprehensive Fee
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Background
The Health component of the Comprehensive Fee was instituted in the fall of 1991 by the SUNY Board of Trustees in an effort to provide student health services to SUNY campuses. Supported services now include student health care, wellness promotion, counseling, and disability services. The UB Student Wellness Team is comprised of Health Services, Counseling Services, and Wellness Education Services. Health Services is committed to providing comprehensive patient education and quality medical services to support the development and academic success of undergraduate, graduate and professional students. Counseling Services seeks to contribute to the personal, educational, and vocational development of students. Counseling Services provides a variety of mental health services to students, and consultative and referral services to staff and faculty. Wellness Education Services seeks to foster a campus culture which encourages personal growth, healthy choices, and positive community values. The Office of Disability Services is the University's center for coordinating services and accommodations to ensure accessibility and usability of all programs, services, and activities of UB by people with disabilities.
Student Benefits/Impact
- Efficient, cost effective services and educational programs
- Assist students in developing coping skills regarding academics, career decisions, and personal concerns
- Deliver counseling and other interventions to students who are retention risks
- Offer Health Promotion and Harm Reduction strategies and programs
- Prevention and referral services for alcohol, drugs, violence and other social issues
- Primary care medical services
- Specialty care clinics
- Nutrition consultations, programs and services
- Referrals to diagnostic laboratory, pharmacy and specialty medical services
- Presentations in first year experience classes and to other audiences by request
- Web based self-care and wellness information
- Reasonable accommodations to ensure quality of educational and community opportunities for qualified students with disabilities
- Integration of health related topics directly into academic curriculum
- Peer wellness leadership opportunities
- Creative educational strategies, including focus groups and peer education courses
- Data collection for documentation of program needs, campus health priorities and prevention outcomes
Student Access
- Direct support and care (one-on-one)
- Couples and group counseling services
- Provide year-round after hours crisis intervention and consultation
- Provide supervised training opportunities for students in social work and psychology graduate programs
- Frequent, multi-location educational opportunities
Contact Information
Health Services
Monday 9 am - 7 pm
Tuesday - Friday 9 am - 5 pm
Phone lines open at 8:30 am Monday - Friday
Counseling Services
Monday, Tuesday, Friday 8:30 am to 5 pm
Wednesday, Thursday 8:30 am to 7 pm
Wellness Education Services
Monday - Friday 9 am to 5 pm, plus extended evening hours for wellness activities
Office of Disability Service
Monday - Friday 8:30 am to 5 pm
Expenditure Plan
Health Services: $2,850,650
General Medical Care $1,710,390
Health Services provides primary care and first aid in a timely manner for students. Patients receive follow-up care, education and referrals as needed.
- Scheduled medical appointments
- Nurse appointments and telephone consultation
- Referrals to community health care providers
- 24,163 patient visits in 2007
- Majority of students would recommend or strongly recommend Health Services to a friend
- Ranked 1st out of 4 SUNY Centers for student health services
Specialty Care $997,728
Specialty clinics serve patients with special medical needs. Individual patient utilization can range from a single consultation to continuous medical treatment. These subspecialties warrant practitioners with advanced medical credentials.
- Women's health
- STD testing and education
- Infectious disease
- Travel clinic
- Immunization
- Chiropractic
- 2,188 women's health appointments from Jan. 2007 to Dec. 2007
- 450 infectious disease appointments from Jan. 2007 to Dec. 2007
- 283 travel appointments from Jan. 2007 to Dec. 2007
Outreach Education & Referrals $142,532
Quality health information, workshops, and outreach programs for the entire student population. Provide information on current topics of interest, in order to build a healthy UB community.
- Referrals to community health care providers
- Patient education programs
Counseling Services: $1,451,240
Individual, Couple, Group & Crisis Counseling, Psychiatric Care $943,306
Brief individual and couples counseling, crisis intervention and group counseling.
- Adjustment to college and retention
- Anxiety
- Depression and suicide
- Interpersonal relationships
- Grief and loss
- Sexual assault/abuse
- 21% increase in number of clients, 24% increase in crisis appointments, 25% increase in individual therapy appointments from Fall 2006 to Fall 2007
- 95% of students who received services would recommend or strongly recommend Counseling Services to a friend
Workshops $203,174
Quality information, workshops and outreach programs for the entire student population. Presents information on current topics of interest, to build a healthy UB community.
- Suicide prevention
- Dating violence
- Diversity awareness
- Stress management
- Communication skills
- In the first year of a grant awarded by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) 2196 students, faculty, staff, and parents were trained in suicide prevention and awareness (Fall 2006 - Fall 2007)
- Overall, Counseling Services had 6,658 campus contacts through workshops and educational programs in 2006-2007
Consultation and Crisis Response $145,124
Answer mental health-related questions. Assist in referral to counseling process. Respond to campus emergencies.
- Students
- Faculty and staff
- Parents
- After hours crisis consultation is available 365 days a year
- Crisis appointments are offered several times each day and the average wait for an initial non-crisis appointment is 6 days. This is significantly shorter than the wait to see a mental health provider in the community which can be 4 weeks or more.
- Post Virginia Tech, there has been a significant increase in crisis appointments and in consultations about distressed students
Instruction, Training & Supervision $159,636
Nationally accredited psychology training program.
- Social work interns
- Pre-doctoral Psychology interns
- Counseling practicum and externs
- 15 graduate level students are currently being trained/supervised at Counseling Services. They provide assistance to students in the form of additional counselors, reducing the counselor to student ratio as well as providing support to three academic programs at UB (Social Work, Clinical Psychology and Counseling Psychology)
Disability Services: $318,000
Services $318,000
Support and promote educational, career, social, and recreational choices and objectives of people with disabilities at UB, and advocate for their full inclusion in all aspects of campus life. Services are provided on an individualized basis.
- Reasonable modification of University policies, practices and procedures as needed to assure nondiscrimination on the basis of disability
- Auxiliary aids and services for accessing print and oral information
- Aids, services and modified conditions for accessing classroom lectures and tests
- Services for accessing physical facilities
- Referral for wheelchair-accessible on-campus transportation
- Free training on accessible features of computing and information services
- Disability information and agency referral
- Coordinated University efforts for individualized snow clearance of typical and scheduled paths of travel for individual students with known mobility impairments
- Disability management counseling
- Faculty consultations
- 11% increase in students served
- Administered over 2,300 exams
- Over 500 students served by Disability Services
Wellness Education Services: $563,110
Health Promotion and Harm Reduction Strategies, Outreach, and Special Events $484,275
The education and outreach arm of the Wellness Team provides accurate, timely information on campus health promotion priorities for the entire student body. Partner with campus and community stakeholders to reach target groups with priority programs and design and implement interventions to reduce health risks and increase opportunities for academic success.
- Provide mandatory psycho educational drug, alcohol and anger management programs to at-risk students (UB SAFER)
- Build campus coalitions to bring together resources for health promotion (violence prevention, sexual health, alcohol and drug misuse, etc.)
- Participate in various outreach activities targeted to different audiences (international students, residence life)
- Implement workshops in varied settings to reach undergraduate, graduate and professional students
- Provide nutritional assessments for students regarding weight control, healthy nutrition and eating disorders
- Active participation in research efforts to identify best practices for priority health areas
- Over 10,000 individuals participated in Wellness Education Services outreach programs
- Outreach programs related to alcohol and other drugs reached 5,246 individuals - a 50% increase compared with last year
- Nutrition and exercise promotion programs and consultations reached over 800 students during the fall of 2006 - a 50% increase from the fall of 2005
- Ranked 1st out of 4 SUNY Centers for health and wellness programs
- Ranked 1st out of 4 SUNY Centers for educational programs: alcohol and substance abuse
Peer Education $78,835
Through intensive and extensive training, peer educators learn to use their health knowledge to assist other students and to increase the "health literacy" of UB's campus community. Each peer educator gains valuable hands-on experience in health promotion program development, group facilitation, public speaking, peer-coaching, social marketing and outreach.
- Delivers health promotion and harm reduction programs to Residence Halls & Apartments, Athletics, Greeks, etc.
- Provide one-on-one peer support, identify student needs and share appropriate resources
- Internships, practicums, and assistantships
- The number of peer educators doubled from a year ago, to a total of 30 undergraduate students
- Partnership with the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences on the Health & Wellness minor has allowed us to reach an additional 600 students this year
- Provision of eight student internships for five different academic and leadership programs
FAQs
Q. Do I have to have the UB Student Medical Insurance Program to be able to use the services of the Student Wellness Team?
A. No! The services are funded through the Comprehensive Fee that you pay with your tuition bill, so there is no extra charge for a visit. Lab work, prescriptions, radiology studies, and specialist care will be covered according to your health insurance policy.
Q. How many visits to the services are covered by the Comprehensive Fee?
A. Currently enrolled UB students may be seen at Health Services as often as needed. Currently enrolled UB students should participate in the programs offered by Wellness Education Services as often as possible. The Office of Disability Services offers services to any eligible, currently enrolled student. Currently enrolled students are eligible for an assessment at Counseling Services at the end of which one or more of the following recommendations will be made: counseling on campus, referral to other services on campus, or referral to a mental health provider in the community.
Q. Whom do I contact with insurance questions?
A. Insurance questions are common, and Health Services may be able to answer some of your questions. However, the Student Medical Insurance Office staff (223 Student Union, 645-3036) are great resources for all your insurance concerns. We do encourage you to talk directly to your own insurance company if you have specific benefit questions.
Q. What if I have a medical emergency and I need to be seen today?
A. The appointment system at Health Services allows for acute problems that need immediate attention. Call 829-3316 for a "Same Day Appointment." If you believe your concern is emergent and you come to Health Services without an appointment, a support staff member will: make an assessment and decide to give you self-care instructions, refer you to an emergency room, have you see one of our providers immediately, or have you make an appointment to be seen as appropriate. If there is a true medical emergency on campus, please dial 645-2222 from a campus phone for an ambulance. Off campus, you should call 911 for medical emergencies.
Q. What do I do when I'm sick at 3 am?
A. When the Health Services is closed and you have a medical concern, call 829-3316 and you will be given instructions and information about your after hours care options. If there is a medical emergency, on campus, call 645-2222. If you are off-campus, dial 911. There is medical care advice available (by phone) 24 hours a day, seven days a week to support UB students when the Health Services is closed.
Q. What if I am concerned about the emotional well-being of a student/friend, but don't quite know how to handle the situation?
A. Please call Counseling Services to consult with a counselor about your concerns. A counselor can help you assess the student's level of distress, determine whether and how to bring up the idea of counseling with the student, decide how to respond to problematic interpersonal behaviors or written materials, etc.
Q. If I come for counseling, who else will know?
A. Counseling often deals with very personal and private issues. Counselors respect students' privacy and will not release information disclosed in counseling without the student's explicit permission, except in situations when it is necessary to protect the student's or another person's safety.
Q. What is the Peer Educator program offered by Wellness Education Services?
A. Our peer educators come from all academic majors, bringing their unique skills and diverse perspectives into their health promotion projects. Through intensive and extensive training, peer educators learn to use their health knowledge to assist other students and to increase the "health literacy" of UB's campus community. Each peer educator gains valuable hands-on experience in program development, group facilitation, public speaking, peer-coaching, social marketing and outreach.
Q. Judicial Services directed me to UB SAFER because I violated alcohol policies and state laws, what is the UB SAFER program?
A. UB SAFER stands for UB Students Avoiding Further Exposure to Risk. Wellness Education Services educators provide an interactive alcohol and drug education for all students who are referred to UB SAFER. The program provides a comfortable environment for personal reflection and exploration of behavioral options. In addition, each student receives a one-on-one confidential follow-up session with a health educator, to review any concerns or questions and identify additional referrals, as appropriate.
Q. I can't seem to manage my class load and my extracurricular activities. I feel stressed out. Help!
A. Through our Wellness Education Services stress management programs in Residence Halls and Apartments, for fraternities and sororities, with Athletics and various undergraduate and graduate classes, we provide important guidance and support to students who are struggling with the demands of academic life and their other roles and responsibilities. We also offer to students, self-care tools in our Resource Center and various Life & Learning workshops that help students get moving (yoga, outdoor excursions, etc).
