A common cold can spread just as quickly as gossip does.
College students are more susceptible to getting a cold due to close living arrangements in a dorm and from touching common objects like door handles. During the fall and winter seasons, Nurse Practitioner, Lori May, said the most common illnesses students encounter are upper respiratory viruses, sinus infections, influenza, mononucleosis (mono) and opportunistic infections. According to MedicineNet website, an opportunistic infection occurs because of a weakened immune system.
“Students can avoid these illnesses by first, getting a flu shot and by keeping his or her immune system healthy,” May said. “Everyone should get at least 7-9 hours of sleep and practice having good nutrition.”
While flu shots are limited at the Student Health Center, May encourages students to get one for the year. A flu shot does have a $25 fee, but the vaccine reduces a person’s likelihood of getting the virus over a longer period of time.
According to May and the Student Health Center information sheet, there is no office visit fee. Students are only charged when needing
medication or antibiotics. Some other types of services that the health center provides include health counseling, in house labs (for a fee), birth control (for a fee), sexual health services and health maintenance.
“Here, we are open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday from 10:15 a.m. to 4 p.m., but we are closed everyday from 1-2 p.m. for lunch,” said May. “The Hillsboro center hours are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. everyday with the exception of Thursdays, being open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and they are also closed for lunch 1-2 p.m. everyday.”
If a student is not able to make an appointment at the Forest Grove health center location, he or she can call for an appointment at the Hillsboro clinic location. “As long as he or she is a current student at Pacific, they can go to either clinic,” said May.
“We are not like an Urgent Care, so we do highly encourage students to call for an appointment early rather than walking in,” said May. “We do provide services to all students, so getting an appointment would secure a student’s chance in being seen.”
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