UWG News Item
Contact: University Communications & Marketing
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Health Services at UWG

May 26, 2005

CARROLLTON, GA - From a sore throat to chest pains, from a sprained ankle to an asthma attack, Health Services at the University of West Georgia is set to handle whatever medical needs students bring to the “round building” on campus.

It is appropriate that this department is housed in a facility built in a circle with no beginning and no end because it seems that there is no end to the links between the campus and the community health systems. A patient advocate was added to the staff in 2003 to assist students by linking them to these needed community services. Students, often far from home and family, are grateful for the guidance and support.

Dr. Leslie Cottrell, director of UWG Health Services, and Jill Hendricks, patient advocate, are reaching students through the classroom as well as in the clinic. Juniors, seniors and graduate students in their Sociology of Medicine course are learning about various health care systems from the very practitioners who deliver them.

“Loy Howard, CEO with Tanner Medical Services, Dr. George Astin, director of Carroll County Public Health, and Pat Robertson, grief counselor and bereavement coordinator for Hospice, are some of the speakers who have shared their expertise and experiences with UWG students,” Cottrell explained.

Howard presented health care systems and Astin discussed illness in developing countries, a topic he learned firsthand while on medical mission trips around the world. Robertson shared the critical, extensive services Hospice provides for terminally ill patients and their families.

“The collaboration between our local health systems and campus Health Services is strong,” Hendricks noted. “We greatly appreciate the willingness of practitioners who are doing this work everyday to explain the interconnectivity of medical services to these sociology students. It adds a reality check to the textbook learning.”

No reality check is needed at Health Services. Approximately 180 students from around the world are seen each day, Monday through Friday, by a staff that includes a physician, two pharmacists, two nurse practitioners, four registered nurses, three licensed practical nurses, a patient advocate, and a health educator who is a registered nurse and certified teacher.

The health educator and her team of students provide information through a web site, seminars and student groups on topics such as general health, wellness, depression, eating disorders, sexually transmitted diseases, sexual assault intervention and more.

Common health concerns, such as colds, allergies, flu, viral infections, etc., are treated as well as minor accidents. A pharmacy provides prescriptions and med-management counseling. A gynecology clinic is available, and psychology services are coordinated through the Student Development Center.

Cottrell noted that Health Services also serves as a teaching facility for nursing students and pre-pharmacy and is the official site for occupational health services for campus employees injured on the job. Considering the diversity of the patient population and of the conditions they present, students in training learn a great deal while completing a rotation in Health Services.

Providing a full scope of services, in addition to classroom teaching, keeps the staff in the round building going in full circle!

For more information on UWG Health Services, visit the web site at www.westga.edu/~health or contact Cottrell or Hendricks at 876-839-6459.

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