University health services

University health services offer complete health care facilities to students as well as staff of University. Students have the option of joining SHP or Student Health Program in which different therapies, health promotion requirements and visits concerning primary care are covered.

University staffs have the facility of selecting physicians working as part of University Health Services for their health care related issues. There is also the Occupational Health Program under UHS and the university staffs have access to different services related to health care through it.

UHS Staff

University Health Services have multidisciplinary staff that offers extensive range of services and consists of staff members such as:

  1. Nurse practitioners
  2. Physicians
  3. Physician assistants
  4. Registered nurses
  5. Psychologists
  6. Dietician
  7. Social workers
  8. Athletic trainers
  9. Health educators
  10. Psychiatrists
  11. Administrative personnel
  12. Physical therapists
  13. Technical personnel

University Health Services

Here we list some of the most common services provided by UHS:

  1. Walk-in facility for any urgent health care requirements.
  2. Emergency care at late hours in the day.
  3. Appointment based outpatient primary health treatment facility.
  4. Different wellness related services.
  5. Sexual health care facility.
  6. Treatment of allergy related problems.
  7. Immunization programs.
  8. Medicine for sports and athletics.
  9. Various inpatient services.
  10. Physical therapy services.
  11. Laboratory and radiology facilities.

Counseling Services

Different psychological and counseling facilities are also provided as part of University Health Services and consists of crisis prevention, group as well as individual psychotherapy, evaluations such as psychopharmacological ones, referrals in case of long term care requirements, triage consultation on the same day in case some critical problem arises, different educational workshops, teams which are trained in interdisciplinary treatment, advise for prevention of sexual assault and harassment and health screening which falls in the category of preventive care.

These counseling facilities are accessible to all graduate as well as undergraduate students of the university. In case a student has spouse and other dependents then they are also allowed to consult the UHS. It is worth mentioning here that all counseling related visits by students remain confidential and the details of the counseling session are not made public unless allowed by student. If however the safety of that pupil is at risk or is a requirement under law then only the details of counseling will be disclosed.

Faculty and Staff Health Services

As part of health services for the teaching fraternity and other staff members, different facilities are provided such as medical treatment in case of illness & injuries that are related to work, if some employee is returning back to work after any kind of disability then his or her evaluation for fitness, evaluations related to restricted duty assignments, programs for medical surveillance, different types of immunization services and many other additional facilities like radiology lab access & physical therapy.

Promotion of Health

Towards achieving the goal of promotion of health many additional services are provided by UHS that includes customized workshops, library, wellness consultations on an individual basis, screening which is of preventive nature for mental health, analysis and research to judge the health behaviors in university campus, peer assistance as well as advising facility and advisory board for recommending and suggesting student health related plans & programs.

Thus it is clear that UHS is has an important role to play in the physical well being of students, faculty and other staff members of the university and has become an integral part of today’s education system.

Healthcare business

In healthcare business as in any other business proper management is required for managing the day-to-day business. The person responsible for health services management plans, co-ordinates as well as supervises correct delivery of all necessary healthcare needs. A heath services manager can be a specialist who has the responsibility of any particular department or someone who has to look after the whole facility.

HSM tries to integrate delivery system in a healthcare department, studies various technological innovations, work in coordination with all the regulatory bodies and works towards meeting the goals of betterment of quality as well as efficiency of healthcare system.

Health Services Management Includes
Health services management includes different responsibilities like managing clinical and health information. In clinical sector, management involves implementation of policies and procedures for different health departments, evaluation of quality of work, create budgets and synchronize activities in all the departments and between all the managers.

In terms of management of health information, the tasks involve maintenance of electronic patient records. Management also includes ensuring quality of patient data available and that access is granted to people who have proper authorization.

Health services management is divided into smaller parts in case a large department is to be managed with forty to fifty physicians in the department. All the managerial activities such as collection & billing, planning, budgets, patient flows, equipment outlays and planning are divided properly for effective management.

Educational Requirements

In HSM a master’s degree is most sought after but a bachelor’s degree can also let a person get an entry level post in the health services sector. In health service management field it is important to have the knowledge of correct administration, public health, health sciences and business administration. There are different bachelors, masters and doctoral programs that a person can pursue if interested in working in the health services management sector.

Employment Opportunities

It is worth noting here that in health service management, especially in fields such as nursing care applicants are required to qualify in licensing examination and finish a training program in addition to the bachelor’s degree they have.

In health services management the managers can select from many different placement possibilities such as in residential care and nursing sector, hospitals, offices of doctors and physicians, home healthcare, healthcare departments run by the government, community health care departments and outpatient centers.

Future of HSM

The future of health services management is very bright with considerable growth expected in the next few years. Managers in this field can expect to get hired in different healthcare management organizations that provide such managerial services to different hospitals and health facilities. Earnings in this sector differ depending upon the type as well as size of institution they join.

Health services management is a very challenging field with responsibilities of managing critical health and medical issues. Nowadays with rapid growth of the health sector, HSM has become quite important with most health institution feeling the need of proper management of their services and departments. Health services management makes it possible to have better control over all the functions in a medical services organization and also right implementation of various strategies and plans.

Community health care services

Community health services aim to improve health condition of people living in a specific community.

By health it is meant a state where people have total mental, physical and social good health and not just safety from diseases or any type of infirmity.

Towards fulfillment of the aim of providing high quality health services main attention is given on: prevention, early intervention, rehabilitation, education and direct care.

Different Activities
Some of the activities that a CHS is commonly involved in are:

  1. Delivering outreach as well as office services such as counseling & physiotherapy.
  2. Promotion of education & health.
  3. Intervention, management of different cases & advocacy.
  4. Developing relationship with various sectors such as hospitals, government, industry & similar natured community health service providers.

Importance of Community Health Services
Community health services have nowadays become an integral part of total health sector and cannot be called just an add-on service. They play a vital role in creation as well as maintenance of health and well being in communities which do not have the ability to pay for these services.

CHS is not about crisis management but rather a long term measure that tries to empower people, provide access to facilities for marginalized groups, sustain community partnerships and develop multi-disciplinary & client focused services.

Services offered by CHS
Few of the common preventive as well as primary services provided by CHS include adolescent & adult medicine, dental care, pediatrics, behavioral health, optometry, women’s health and podiatry. Many specialty services are also provided like diabetes cure and social initiative such as weekly food pantries for the poor and on-location laboratory plus pharmacy support. Some of the other common services include:

  1. Case management
  2. Counseling for alcohol & drug rehabilitation
  3. Oral health & child development
  4. Dietetics
  5. Provide mental health
  6. Occupational therapy, physiotherapy
  7. Speech pathology, podiatry
  8. Youth services
  9. Exercise facilities and playgroups
  10. Counseling for depression & anxiety

Most community health services also take part in different community events and health fairs as part of their community outreach program. With focus on community partnership, community health services develop collaboration with facilities that provide complementary services to that of CHS.

They form partnership with organizations that represent families in legal health matter like benefits & rights for people with disabilities, Medicaid advocacy, entitlements and public benefits.

Main Focus Areas
Community health services is a part of Health Care Authority (HCA) which focuses on providing access to people who are underinsured or uninsured to affordable & standard health care facilities. To fulfill this aim they:

  1. Fund community clinics that work as non-profit institutions so that the clinics can provide proper health care facilities to people within the community.
  2. Increasing efficiency as well as make operations of contractors effective.
  3. To ensure that community clinics continue to work towards betterment of health of the community, necessary expansion and stability of these clinics is properly funded.
  4. Identify scope of betterment of relationships among community members and the Health Care Authority.

As we can see community health services have the responsibility of catering to different health as well as social needs of the community they serve in and have become an integral part of our lives.