Episode two of the Dean’s Corner truly fulfilled one of the major goals established by the Dean’s Corner to bridge the gap between the Division for Student Affairs and each of the amazing offices and departments across Southeastern. We were able to sit down with the University Health Center Director, Ms. Andrea Peevy, ANP-BC, and Wellness Coordinator, Ms. Kayla Noll, M.S. CHES.  Being that the University Health Center is housed under the Department of Nursing and Health Sciences, this was an excellent opportunity to reach out to partners outside of the Division for Student Affairs.

There was so much amazing information shared during my time with both Ms. Peevy and Ms. Noll, so I encourage anyone reading this to watch the entire interview. As one can imagine, much of the conversation was dominated by COVID-19. After all, you cannot turn on the television or peruse social media without hearing about vaccines, cases and school protocols. That said, we asked Ms. Peevy a question all students are likely thinking. What should I do If I feel I am developing symptoms of COVID-19?

“The Health Center now provides telemedicine, which has increased access and availability to healthcare. If a student is not feeling well, we do not want you just walking into the Health Center. We want them to go to our website to schedule an appointment via telemedicine. I can do a screening and determine if you need to come in virtually before you actually come into the office.”

Another pressing concern many students and parents have brought up is our ability to provide testing. As mentioned during the interview by Ms. Peevy, “We do have tests available, and I will test only those students are displaying symptoms. However, many of the results are taking 8 to 9 days to return.” It’s important to note that this return time is in line with what we’re seeing across the country.

We were able to switch gears a bit throughout the interview and ask Ms. Kayla Noll how she feels COVID-10 has impacted the overall wellness of people within society. “It impacted a lot of people significantly, especially their stress levels.” Kayla went on to discuss the idea that the virus is affecting people in all aspects of wellness. Many are concerned with the unknown, future employment, and undoubtedly, people are concerned with their personal health.  This seemed like the perfect time to lead into discussions about what we all should be doing to ensure we are practicing appropriate behaviors to ensure proper wellness.  Kayla listed a few:

1. Try to find nutritious food. This is hard for students but check out this great article for assistance.
2. Stay away from increased alcohol consumption
3. Get adequate sleep
4. Practice good hygiene
5. Be self-aware and Set boundaries

As mentioned previously, there was an abundance of timely information shared during the interview. Please be sure to watch! I’ll close with a quote from Ms. Andrea Peevy about what we can all do as we fight this pandemic. She stated, “Wearing a mask is so important! It is not that hard to wear one. A neurosurgeon wears a mask all day and gets enough oxygen. I think we will all be fine wearing a mask.”

The full interview can be found on my personal Youtube channel. I also encourage you to follow me on Instagram – @dr_gabewillis and Twitter – @drgabewillis.