Student Health and Wellness

Dear Goucher Families and Friends,

I am writing this from our Wellness Center, where I have a beautiful view of the fall foliage on our campus. I am Jean Perez, the director of Student Health and Wellness, and I oversee the Student Health Center, sports medicine, health education, wellness promotion, and our peer educator program. While the COVID-19 pandemic has dominated the past few years, I would like to take this opportunity to share a few other updates, as well as our deadlines for the flu and COVID boosters.

As you may know, our Student Health Center (SHC) offers students affordable and accessible primary care services on campus. It is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., during the fall and spring semesters. Students can make appointments at the SHC for acute or chronic illnesses or injuries, bloodwork, physical exams, immunizations, or preventative care. The SHC does not have all the capabilities of an urgent care center and refers students to local urgent care centers or emergency rooms when necessary. Sick and wellness visits are free, though a small cost may be incurred for point-of-care testing. We have a small pharmacy, and students can buy certain medications and medical supplies for a fee. If your student has the Student Health Insurance Plan through United Healthcare, visits, lab work, or prescriptions are included through insurance. The SHC does not take walk-ins, but typically, same-day appointments are available, particularly for time-sensitive matters. Students can request an appointment by email to nurse@goucher.edu or by calling 410-337-6050.

This semester, we have an exciting new addition to our health care options—a partnership with Medstar Rehabilitation Network to provide physical therapy services on campus for members of our community. They have a satellite clinic in the Decker Sports and Recreation Center that students can access if they need physical therapy for injuries or chronic illnesses. Students can make appointments by email to mhptgoucher@medstar.net. Medstar contacts the student to collect relevant demographic and insurance information and to set up an appointment. All visits are charged through the student’s insurance and require an order from a licensed medical provider.

We also have a partnership with the Maryland Collaborative. The Maryland Collaborative is a group of 18 Maryland colleges and universities with the goal of reducing excessive drinking and substance use among college students and helping students make healthy decisions to be more successful in school and beyond. As a part of this relationship, Goucher participates annually in their College Alcohol Survey, which helps us make data-informed decisions about on-campus programs and initiatives. Additionally, the Collaborative provides valuable resources to families to enable them to engage in effective conversations about alcohol and substance use with their students. You can visit the Maryland Collaborative or their supplemental College Parents Matter page to use these resources.

In an email to the students on September 26, the COVID-19 task force reminded students that Goucher’s vaccine requirements include both the flu vaccine and the latest COVID-19 bivalent booster for students attending classes in person or who have an on-campus component to their program unless there is an approved medical or religious exemption. The deadline to provide proof of the flu vaccination is November 7, 2022; it is listed on the Important Dates for Students. Additionally, Goucher follows the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) COVID-19 guidelines. The CDC revised its definition of “up to date” vaccination as the completion of three doses of the COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer or Moderna) and the new bivalent booster. Students must also receive the COVID-19 bivalent booster and submit documentation by January 9, 2023. These deadlines ensure that students have time to receive the booster and submit proof. In the same email, we shared the dates of our on-campus flu and COVID-19 booster clinic in partnership with Safeway pharmacy and gave students instructions on uploading proof of receiving both vaccinations.

Lastly, we had a wide variety of health education and wellness promotion events on campus this semester. In September, our Student Counseling Center hosted our annual Fresh Check Day. Fresh Check Day is an uplifting mental health fair that encourages students to have conversations about mental health and connects them with mental health resources. Our Peer Educators are busy this semester, engaging in dialogue with their peers about topics such as healthy relationships, hosting tabling events about substance use during Halloween week, and partnering with residential assistants (RAs) to hold stress management workshops. They also hosted a booth with the Office of Title IX at Fresh Check Day and collaborated with our Student Counseling Center to host an event about gratitude during the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) #IWILLLISTEN week in October.

We hope that providing students with high-quality health care, tools, and resources helps them make well-informed choices about their health and well-being. It allows them to thrive in the classroom and their lives beyond Goucher.

Jean