Sabrina Brown

The medical staff at the University Health Center includes Michelle Dunn, LPN, (left); Jeanne Strunk, FNP, (women’s health); Dr. Robert Wade, medical director; Harriet Vincent, FNP; and Bethany Rothwell, RN.

As cold and flu season cranks up, it seems an appropriate time to share with you some information about our University Health Center, a resource available to all currently enrolled Longwood students.

Clinic Director Ronald Goforth, Medical Director Dr. Robert Wade and the rest of the University Health Center staff are committed to providing a high level of care and to keeping your student healthy so they can be successful at Longwood.

Toward that end, the center directors asked me to emphasize one thing in this post:
Encourage your student to get a flu shot!

The University Health Center’s primary goal is to see all students needing care within 24 hours, “but most of the time they are seen the same day,” says Dr. Wade.

Now, on to some basic information about the University Health Center. For more detailed, comprehensive information, please visit the center’s website at
http://www.longwood.edu/health/

Or give them a call at the phone number listed below.

Services
The center provides primarily acute, wellness and preventative care. This means the medical staff can help if your student

• is experiencing a short-term (acute) illness
• is injured
• wants to take precautions to avoid getting sick
• wants an annual wellness or women’s health exam

In addition to these primary services, the University Health Center medical staff can also

• administer flu shots
• administer allergy shots (with serum provided by the student and a medical order from their allergist; fee required)
• write prescriptions for ADD/ADHD (with proper documentation of psychological workup within the prior three years; see website FAQs about this topic. Students who need this testing can have it done through Counseling and Psychological Services at Longwood. Information about CAPS services and fees is available at http://www.longwood.edu/caps/.
• administer IV fluids for students who have become dehydrated due to illness
• provide osteopathic manipulation for neck and back pain
• perform a tuberculosis skin test, which is required for nursing students
• collect lab specimens for testing and coordinate with LabCorp

Medical Staff
When your student visits the University Health Center, they will be seen by a member of the medical staff, which includes

• a physician
  
• a general family nurse practitioner
• a women’s health nurse practitioner
• three nurses

Appointments
Appointments are preferred but not required. Your student can make an appointment

• online through the student portal: https://cumulus.longwood.edu/cas/login?service=https://longwood.studenthealthportal.com/CASIf no appointment slots are available online, please encourage your student to call.
• by phone: 434-395-2102
  

Walk-ins
The clinic accepts walk-ins, but your student should be prepared to wait if necessary. Also, the earlier they get to the health center, the better, though every attempt will be made to see all walk-ins the same day.

Talking to the Medical Staff About Your Student
Parents of students who are 18 or older should be aware that FERPA (Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act) prevents members of the medical staff from discussing your student’s health issues with you unless your student signs a separate release form for each day they were seen at the center. (These forms are available at the center.) Of course, your student can share any and all information with you about their conditions and treatment.

After-Hours Care
If your student feels their illness or injury can’t wait until the center reopens, they can go to

• Centra Medical Group at 935 S. Main Street: 434-315-2850
• Centra Southside Community Hospital Emergency Department at 800 Oak Street: 434-315-2530
• Their primary care provider (PCP)

In addition, if your student has a non-life-threatening medical issue after hours, they may contact the health center’s nurse advice line at 805-858-3117.

Hospital and Emergency Care
Centra Southside Community Hospital and its emergency department, located at 800 Oak Street, are within walking distance of the Longwood campus. Your student may be referred to Centra Southside for X-rays and other diagnostic procedures, as well as care outside the scope of the University Health Center.

If your student has a medical emergency, they should call 911 or the Longwood University Police Department at 434-395-2091.

Payment
Being seen by a member of the medical staff is covered by student fees. If the student has health insurance, the clinic will bill the insurance provider, but no copay is required. Charges for off-site services such as prescriptions, visits to the emergency department or other health providers, hospitalization, injections and laboratory tests are the student’s responsibility.

University Health Center
Location, Hours and Contact Info
Location: Longwood Landings (106 Midtown Ave.) across from Subway
Hours of operation: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday except university holidays
Phone: 434-395-2102
Fax: 434-395-2738
email: studenthealth@longwood.edu

A Partnership with Potomac Healthcare Solutions
The University Health Center is operated by Potomac Healthcare Solutions, headquartered in Woodbridge, Virginia. PHS operates clinics and provides medical staffing in the U.S. and abroad, including for the Department of Defense and Veterans Health Administration.

—Sabrina Brown

By now many of you are probably aware that there’s snow in the Saturday and Sunday forecasts for Farmville (and consequently Longwood). Rest assured that Longwood is well-versed in preparing for snow and meeting the needs of students when it arrives.

Key administrators and staff from across the campus are meeting regularly to monitor the forecast and make preparations for the impending weather.

One change that has already been made is the time move-in will begin. Students can now begin moving back onto campus at 1 p.m. tomorrow, Friday, Jan. 11. Classes are still set to resume Tuesday morning.

As the forecast becomes more clear and decisions are made, updates to building hours, the class meeting schedule and campus events will be posted to alerts.longwood.edu. (The screen shot above shows what the site looks like.) You can visit this site for the most updated information concerning winter weather.

Updates also will be texted or emailed to students. If you would also like to receive alerts via text and/or email, you can sign up here.  Click on “Sign Up” in the upper right corner; then fill out the requested information and click on the “Create Account” tab. You’ll then have the options to fill in a phone number that can receive texts and an email address.

Of course, there’s always the chance that the snow will completely miss us. Hope springs eternal.

Best, Sabrina Brown

Happy 2019, Lancer parents!

If your student has mentioned wanting to step up their physical activity in the coming year, here’s some information you can pass along about how they can make that happen at Longwood.

Included are individual workouts, group fitness classes, sessions with personal trainers and intramural sports. Many of these offerings are free, while others are offered for a small fee.

Individual Workouts
Longwood’s Health and Fitness Center on the main campus offers state-of-the-art facilities and workout equipment available to all enrolled students at no charge.  Basketball and racketball courts, an indoor track, weight and cardio equipment, and free weights are accessible throughout the day and evening.

Group Fitness Classes
Free group fitness classes are held in the Health and Fitness Center Monday through Friday. Your student can participate in Zumba, yoga, Pilates, spin and more.

Free classes are also held at Longwood’s Midtown Fitness Performance Center, which is just a short walk from the main campus. Classes include circuit training, hardcore abdominal work and Bootcamp (a workout involving tires, sandbags and sleds).

Workshops
Workshops such as Women on Weights, which focuses on strength training, are offered at the Midtown location. Held on weekly from Jan. 21-March 1, workshops cost $20 for students.

Personal Training Sessions
Individual or “buddy” sessions with a personal trainer also are available in a variety of packages. For example, an individual “starter pack” includes an assessment appointment where the trainer and the student decide on goals and three workout sessions for $54. A “buddy pack” includes an assessment and five workout sessions for two students at a cost of $39 per student.

Intramurals
Intramural sports, where teams of students compete against each other, are offered throughout the spring semester. Sports begin at different points throughout the semester, beginning with 5v5 basketball, then going to indoor soccer and softball and ending with team handball. Costs range from $15-$30 per team. Students can sign up and get more information at imleagues.com/longwood.

If your student is interested in finding out more about these fitness options, direct them to www.longwood.edu/recreation.

Best, Sabrina Brown

Depending on where you live, you might not be aware that it snowed all day in Farmville last Sunday, dropping more than 12 inches of snow in the area. Most students were probably safely and snugly home by then, so they missed out on the winter wonderland that the campus became as a result.

Longwood closed for two days, so the timing was actually lucky. That amount of snow a few days earlier would have wreaked havoc with the final exam schedule.

The Longwood campus is beautiful all the time, but it is particularly picturesque in the snow, as you can see from the photos below.

We hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday and that your student uses the winter break to rest and recharge.

Residence halls open for the spring semester at noon on Saturday, January 12. Classes begin at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, January 15.

Best, Sabrina Brown

If your student seems a little more focused or even stressed these days, it’s usually just a natural consequence of exam time. As an antidote, Longwood has sprinkled the end of the semester with some traditions that provide a break from what can be an intense time of year.

These include the Grand Illumination, the lighting of the 24-foot holiday tree in the Rotunda of Ruffner Hall; caroling by the Camerata Singers, also in Ruffner; and Late Night Breakfast in Dorrill Dining Hall.

President W. Taylor Reveley IV officially started the holiday season on Tuesday night when he turned the switch on the 10,000 lights on Longwood’s holiday tree. The tradition of having a holiday tree in the university’s main building began in about 1887. Surrounding the tree are displays noting several traditional holiday celebrations, including Chanukah and Kwanzaa.

Tomorrow at 11:15 a.m. in the Rotunda of Ruffner Hall, the Camerata Singers will gather around the holiday tree and lift their voices in traditional melodies of the season.

On Sunday, Dec. 2, beginning at 10 p.m. volunteer faculty and staff will serve up a hot breakfast of eggs, bacon, biscuits, and more to send students into exam week well-fed. Legend has it that Late Night Breakfast began at Longwood in 1999 at the suggestion of Susan Sullivan, who still works at Longwood and is director of the University Center and Student Activities. Fueled by the substantial breakfast and encouraged by faculty and staff, students usually turn the dining hall into an impromptu dance floor.

If your student seems to be experiencing more than the usual stress about exams, encourage him or her to discuss how they’re feeling with a friend or a professor they know—or to check in with the professionals at Counseling and Psychological Services (434-395-2409).

Even though many of the trees on campus are bare, I thought we could all enjoy one more beautiful fall photograph in honor of Thanksgiving weekend.

Here at Longwood we have many things to be thankful for. Two that immediately come to mind are the opening of the Upchurch University Center in late October and the installation last Friday of Longwood’s newest statue of its patron hero, Joan of Arc—an awe-inspiring monument created by world-renowned Scottish sculptor Alexander Stoddart. I will be writing future posts about those two developments and what they mean for your students.

For now, with the Thanksgiving feast recently consumed and perhaps a football game still to be enjoyed, those of us at Longwood send our sincere best wishes to your family.

I hope that your student returns to campus recharged and ready to head into final exams, which take place the week of Dec. 3. The last day of regular classes is Nov. 30.