Mission Statements from Twelve College Health Services

In the following listing, the name and address of the director and college preceeds their comments and the mission statement of their health service.

Laura K. McKenna, M.S.N.,C.R.N.P.,Director-Student Health, La Salle University Philadelphia, PA. 19141, lmckenna@lasalle.edu
The mission of Student Health Services is to maintain optimum, physical and emotional health of the La Salle University student body through the provision of quality, accessible, comprehensive, and cost-effective primary health care. We also strive to promote healthy behaviors and lifestyle choices through ongoing educational outreach and programming. Student Health serves to assist students in the pursuit of their academic goals and personal development consistent with the mission of the University.

Dorothy Phillips, APRN, MPH, Nurse Practitioner, Eastern Connecticut State University, phillipsd@ecsu.ctstateu.edu , (860) 465-5263.
We kept the mission statement for our Health Service short and simple: It is"to promote the lifelong physical and emotional well-being of [our] students through the provision of accessible, comprehensive, and cost-effective primary health care and educational outreach."

Larry Hudson, Director, SHS and SCC, Univ. of South Dakota, Vervillion, SD 57069. LHUDSON@Charlie.usd.edu
The SHS at the University of South Dakota has been accredited by AAAHC since 1983. The following Mission Statement is our second, due to the fact that during one of our on site visits, it was suggested to make it more brief and to the point. I too requested several statements from collegues, as I did not want to reinvent the wheel.
The Mission of the USD Health Service is to provide health care to students while counseling or treating them for their particular problem; to promote preventive medicine and healthy lifestyles; to develop educational and outreach programs; and to make student visits an informational and educational experience.

Mary Deal MSN, ARNP, Director, Health Services, Clark College, Vancouver, WA, DEALMT@gaiser.clark.edu
The mission of Clark College Health Services is to enhance the academic environment by providing quality health care and health education services to students and staff of Clark College in a caring, cost effective, and convenient manner.

Wayne H. Ericson, Ph.D, Director, Student Health Service, Campus Box 2540, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois 61790-2540
The Student Health Program helps students achieve their career and educational goals by maintaining and improving their health and the health of the university community through the provision of cost effective, quality programs which are appropriately linked and coordinated with other university and community providers. These programs promote health, prevent and treat illness, and restore ill persons to optimal health. The Student Health Program serves an ever-increasing number of satisified customers, and recognizes the value of each participant in our service community.

Mark R. Gardner, M.D., Director, Northwestern University Health Service, Evanston, IL 60208-4000, E-mail: mrg@nwu.edu
The primary mission of the Health Service is two-fold... 1) To provide quality medical care to allow students to perform optimally, physically and mentally, to achieve their academic and intellectual potential, and to minimize interruptions in their academic pursuits; 2) To provide strong, effective health education programs to help students develop healthy life-styles to enhance their intellectual growth and development as they become responsible members of society for the future.

Carol Hillerson, Administrative Assistant, Creighton University Student Health, Omaha, NE, hiller@creighton.edu
Student Health is committed to promoting the physical and mental health of the Creighton student through provision of quality health care services. Public health measures to prevent accidents and diseases are implemented. Student Health also provides programming in health promotion and disease prevention to the University community. all of these services are based on research and evaluation of college students' health needs and lifestyle issues. Our goal is to prepare students to be their own health advocates and informed consumers of appropriate health care services. Appropriate use of the health care delivery system is necessary to keep health care accessible.

Anne Devney, Health Center, College of Lake County, a non-residential college of 15,000 students located in Greyslake, IL:
The mission of Health Services encompasses an holistic approach to health care management, providing assessments and assisting students and staff in the management of health related concerns. The Health Service's primary emphasis is on the promotion of health and wellness through education as contrasted to an emphasis on providing clinic type service. In addition to educational programming, the center does provide basic first aid and short term minor illness treatment. The Health Services responds to emergency health situations and makes appropriate referrals. Services are coordinated with other departments on campus, as well as with local resources in the external community.

Hall Health Primary Care Center, University of Washington
The mission of Hall Health is to provide high quality, accessible primary health care, selected specialty services and public health services to University of Washington students and the surrounding community. The staff is committed to improving and maintaining physical and mental health with a focus on health education and appropriate use of health services.
Lois Hildenbrand, Co-Director, Center for Health and Counseling, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 755580, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-5580
The mission of the UAF Center for Health and Counseling is to promote the overall health of students. We assist students in their acquisition of the knowledge, skills and behaviors necessary to recover, build and maintain health, balance lifestyles. Our mission also includes helping to foster a healthy campus environment and working to ensure accessibility of education for all students.

The University of Virginia, James C. Turner,MD, Director, Elson Student Health Center, 400 Brandon Avenue, PO Box 800760, Charlottesville VA 22908. http://www.virginia.edu/studenthealth/ Submitted by Madeline Y. Jones, Quality Improvement Coordinator.
The Department of Student Health provides health care, education, and health promotion for students in support of their University experience. All encounters between students and staff are regarded as opportunities to influence students' health attitudes and practices. The Department's academic activities include the education of future health care providers, the training and supervision of students as health educators, and participation in research. As a consultant to the University regarding students' individual and public health issues, the Department provides institutional leadership and student advocacy within our community, state, region and nation.

Gerald Fleischli, University of Oregon, heagjf@OREGON.UOREGON.EDU
This mission statement was developed over a period of at least a year, with input from a variety of stakeholders. The value of a mission statement is not only in the words themselves, but also in the process by which it is developed. Stakeholders need to be a part of this process if they are going to be asked to support the mission.
The primary mission of the Student Health Center is to enhance the educational process by modifying or removing health-related barriers to personal development and learning. Additional roles for the health center are to provide prevention, health promotion, and education services that enable students to take full advantage of their academic experience and to serve as the health and medical resource for the university community.
A special thank-you goes to Laura McKenna for collecting the information, and I am also grateful to our college health colleagues who submitted mission statements and gave us permission to share them with the readers of CQ.


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