Final Biology Project

For your final project, you will be investigating your college health center (or a college of your choosing). You will need to answer the following questions in complete sentences. Please turn in your final project typed in 12-point font with one-inch margins, double-spaced.

Section 1: Health Center Basics ~Answer the following questions in one paragraph:

~Where is your health center located on the college campus?Attach a map of your campus with the health center circled (you may print out or copy the map).

~Do you have insurance through the school or through your parents? If your insurance is through your parents, find out how the college health center works with your insurance company (i.e. what happens if you seek care at the college health center if you have your parent’s insurance policy)

~What is the co-pay for a visit to the health center? What is the co-pay for generic prescription drugs? If you already take medication regularly and will be switching insurance plans as you enter college, find out the new cost of your medication.

~What is the closest hospital with an emergency room? Where is the nearest urgent care or pharmacy?Include a printout of google maps (or another map format) that includes your college as well as these locations labeled.

~Figure out some details about your insurance coverage. Is mental health care covered and if so, how many visits per year? If there are any specialty services you typically use (e.g. physical therapy, chiropractics, optometry, dental care) are these covered?

Section 2: Exploring Health Policies~Answer the following questions in one paragraph:

~What is your college’s policy concerning underage drinking (or other illegal behavior) and obtaining medical care for a person in need (i.e. will participants at a party with underage drinking be in trouble if they call 911 for someone they believe has alcohol poisoning)? If your college has strict rules and punishes people in these situations, come up with a “plan B” for how you would deal with this situation if the need arose.

~Can your parents request private health information about you from doctors (whether they are doctors at the health center or at home)? Are the rules different if you are under 18?

~Are there any hotlines/crisis counseling numbers you can call if needed? Include the numbers. Are you anonymous when calling these numbers?

~What is your college’s policy on possession of contraband such as: alcohol if you are under 21, illegal drugs, prescription drugs that were not prescribed to you? What would happen if such contraband was found in your room, even it if belonged to your roommate?

~What is your college’s policy on getting medical excuses to be out of class/miss a final exam? Is there a fever threshold or some other indicator at which point doctors will medically excuse you from class?

Section 3: Health and Safety: Answer the following questions in one paragraph:

~What information can you find about the prevalence of rape/sexual assault on your campus? Figure out what the school’s response has been to allegations of rape. There are some high profile schools which are currently embroiled in controversy around this topic. Even if your school is not embroiled in controversy, figure out where it would be best to report allegations of rape (i.e. if a friend confided in you and asked for your support, where would you suggest the friend report the rape? You may find that the local hospital or police might be worth notifying in addition to the school health center and campus police)?

~Find as much information as you can about student health on campus. Can you find any information about the prevalence of alcohol poisoning, or about illegal drug use? See if you can find this information in the released safety information, which may be listed under campus police/security. Mention any unique risks that your school might have (e.g. a school in Baltimore may have more security risks because of the urban environment).

~Are there any interesting amenities that the school has in place to increase student safety (e.g. are there any blue lights, is there a shuttle/bus that can pick you up if you are drunk off campus? Are there any safety courses that students can take?)

~Is there any other significant health information that you have found or want to describe?

DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF FINALS PERIOD. Please bring this typed and printed with the maps included. In class we will do an activity and discuss a few difficult scenarios you might face in college.

Be safe when you are away! I wish you all the best health in college 