If your college or university has started its pandemic planning efforts, you may be interested to know that the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has recently launched a campaign called “Take the Lead”, aimed at raising awareness of the importance of pandemic planning. It provides a tool kit with talking points, factsheets and even posters to help you disseminate the information across your campus community. More help on getting a plan together can be found in this Nuesoft Xpress newsletter article on pandemic planning, featuring tips from Anita Barkin, chair of ACHA’s pandemic planning task force.

Nuesoft Technologies Inc. today announced the spring 2008 winners of its 15-year Anniversary Scholarship program. Five schools each received an in-kind donation of up to $15,000 of Nuesoft Xpress™ health center management software.   

The spring 2008 grant recipients are: Agnes Scott College, Barry University, Folsom Lake College, St. Norbert College and Winthrop University.   

“We were extremely pleased with the number and quality of applications that we received this spring,” said Nuesoft Technologies President and CEO Massoud Alibakhsh. “The process was very competitive, but after careful deliberation, the review committee selected the schools that had the most demonstrable need for the grants. I think the choice accurately reflects Nuesoft’s commitment to improve resources for the college health community.”  

“This is huge for our health center,” said Eileen Egan-Hineline, director of student health services at Barry University, and one of this spring’s scholarship recipients. “We have tremendous budget constraints and have not been able to stay current with technology. With a product like Nuesoft Xpress, we will be able to electronically schedule appointments and more easily analyze our school’s health care trends.”   

 “We couldn’t be happier,” said Barbara Bloomer, director of health services at St. Norbert College, which also received a grant award. “We’ve been tracking our student immunizations and other services manually, and it has been an extremely arduous and time-consuming process. Nuesoft Xpress will make us so much more efficient.” 

 The spring winners complete the first round of scholarships given out by Nuesoft. Because university budget calendars vary, Nuesoft is awarding grants in two rounds. The next five winners will be announced in the fall, with all applications reviewed by a selection committee comprised of college health professionals. 

 The deadline for the second round of applications is September 5, 2008. Fall winners will be announced on October 3.  For more information and to download the fall 2008 application, visit the Nuesoft Xpress Web site at www.nuesoftxpress.com/scholarship.

The traditional university health center model may not include third party billing as a source of revenue, but times are changing and some institutions are now embracing commercial insurance options as a way of making ends meet and giving more choices to students.

The topic is still hotly debated, but according to testimony provided by a third party billing service vendor to the Department of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education, third party billing could be one way to avoid capitated health fee increases. Some are not convinced by this - ACHA recently commented that the analysis this testimony relied on was flawed - but third party billing, or indeed a combination of third party and a university plan, may warrant further investigation for some schools. If you’re considering addressing rising costs and falling funding in your college health center, this article explores the issue in more depth.

There was a time, not too long ago, when Methycillin Resistant Staph Aureus, or MRSA, was an infection found only in hospitals and nursing homes. These days, however, as every college health professional knows, it is a great deal more ubiquitous and it’s not just those with a weakened immune system at risk.

The biggest question is this: how do you stop an isolated infection from becoming a rapidly-spreading outbreak? The press would have us believe that cleaning every surface of gyms and locker rooms is what it takes to keep MRSA at bay, but in reality, although cleaning certain items (particularly gym equipment and mats) is helpful, educating those who have the infection and those who are at risk of getting it is far more effective. Attendees of Nuesoft Xpress’ online roundtable on MRSA on March 5 discussed how to achieve this, how to deal with the public relations side of an outbreak, and best practice when students present with skin lesions. If you missed it, you can find the notes and slides here. Nuesoft Xpress holds these roundtables monthly on a variety of topics relevant to college health; to keep an eye on what’s coming up, bookmark this page.

Have you ever wondered about the difference between Web-based and Internet-based practice management systems? The two terms are used interchangeably to describe what really are two very distinct operating environments. Read this Nuesoft Xpress article to learn more about the differences.