Friday, October 23, 2009

Health Care Advisory Committee (HCAC)

The committee met on October 15, 2009.

After a brief introduction of all committee members and attendees, the UHS annual report was distributed and comments and questions were raised.

    One concern brought up was the impact on student health insurance under proposed health care reforms that include a group/employer-based model and an individual model; student health insurance would not fall under either model. UHS and others around country are concerned about making sure student health insurance plans are taken into consideration in the reform process.

    Another question brought up was the impact UHS has on campus nutrition (e.g., quality of food offered in residence halls, etc.). UHS does not currently provide input, but the proposed WiscFit campus-wide wellness initiative for students, faculty and staff has a nutrition component.

The following points were addressed:

  • Fall activity update: Visits were up 20% as of the end of September. Part of increase is related to H1N1, but 10-15% increases began as soon as UHS moved. Resources are stretched thin; costs are going up.

  • Director Searches: Prevention Services: Susan Crowley left. There is November 15 application deadline for her position. Counseling Services: Position description is being developed and should be posted by mid-November. Interviews will be in February.

  • Budget Timeline: HCAC reviews UHS budget and recommends that it be forwarded to Student Services Finance Committee (SSFC). SSFC meets in mid-February and makes recommendations to the Chancellor. Although UHS budget is included in the non-allocable portion of student segregated fees, recommendations made to the Chancellor are important. HCAC will begin discussing UHS budget in December. We will review the budget at the January meeting, the week after the Martin Luther King holiday. Copies of the proposed budget will be distributed for review prior to the January meeting.UHS is also doing a study to evaluate costs and new revenue sources which HCAC will review at the November meeting.

  • H1N1 Update: There were 1,300 H1N1 calls in September. Students are interested in H1H1 vaccine. Seasonal vaccines are also up. UHS was given 2,500 doses of H1N1 vaccine so far. First priority will be to health care workers. There will be a large clinic on November 3 to distribute vaccines. Michael Rosenblum at UW Hospital will be contacting all UW students who have been hospital volunteers. People with chronic health issues are prioritized but not in the top priority, per CDC guidelines; there will be enough vaccines to vaccinate all remaining students at the same time. UHS is working with UW Communications and their own communications department to get information out and alleviate fears based on myths about the safety of the vaccine. H1N1 will probably be part of the seasonal flu vaccine next year. People who think they already were sick with H1N1 but were never tested are still being encouraged to get the vaccine. People can receive both the seasonal and H1N1 vaccine at the same time, provided both are not the nasal spray type. All campus units have Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP) to help them prepare for things like pandemics, natural disasters, etc. Academic units do continuity of instruction plans. Other individual units focus on how they would continue to provide their services with decreased staff, compromised buildings, etc. UHS is involved in overall campus pandemic planning.


Comments are desired. What do you think? Should UHS be involved in improving campus nutrition, such as residence halls and unions menus?

The Associated Students of Madison Shared Governance Committee Blog serves as a space for shared governance appointees and the UW-Madison student body to communicate on issues relating to shared governance. As part of their responsibilities as student representatives, appointees will post a report following each meeting attended.