Stamps provides new health initiatives

Stamps Health Services hosted AMA Session. // Photo by Sierra Schmidt

At the start of a new school year, Stamps Health Services is working towards promoting positive health habits for all Tech students. Stamps works to ensure that all students know of its available and extensive services, and focuses on targeting entering freshmen to expose them to healthy habits early on in their college careers.

This year, Stamps is placing an emphasis on reaching out to freshmen by promoting the completion of MyStudentBody throughout the FASET orientations this summer. The program contains lessons and quizzes dealing with health-related topics and participation is required to participate in some campus organizations.

Michelle Cohen-Segall works with Health Promotion, the main outreach of Stamps Health Services that focuses on providing students with information and events about services offered healthy decision making.

“This summer, we have strongly encouraged first-year students to complete the Essentials Course of MyStudentBody. This course covers alcohol, drugs and sexual violence prevention. To date, 59 percent of first year students have completed MyStudentBody,” Segall said.

“We also are preparing to launch two other initiatives. Our sexual violence prevention program VOICE is raising awareness by forming the Sexual Violence Prevention Peer Leadership Program. It will be led by about ten undergraduate or graduate students who are invested in reducing sexual violence and its negative effects at Tech,” Segall said.

Health Promotion also collaborates with student organizations and hosts events such as Get Yourself Protected, Safe Spring Break, CHOICES and I Love GT Stress Free Fair.

Some students might be familiar with our Get Yourself Tested (GYT) campaign. This campaign is becoming the Get Yourself Protected (GYP) campaign this year. The goal of GYP is to empower GT students to make healthy sexual decisions by increasing availability of safer sex supplies.

Segall also addressed the concern of stress that students may face in the beginning of the semester, and encourages everyone to find a strong social outlet on campus, as well as being confident about seeking help when needed.

“We suggest starting the year with healthy habits. Try to eat healthy, drink water, get enough sleep and exercise,” Segall said.

The events and services Stamps uses to engage students have been well met with student responses from the past, and all are encouraged to make use of the resources they provide for a healthy year.

“Over the past two years, Stamps Health Services has made many changes. Our building has been updated to better reflect student needs and we have hired additional staff. We have achieved accreditation by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). We are proud of our accomplishments and ready to welcome students back to school this fall” Segall said.

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