LaRon Richardson Professor Duncan
Malorie Wolfe
Lisa Wray
Feature Story- Brady Health Center
Despite what some may think, the heart of any college campus is not the fancy equipped gymnasium or the historic library that has stood as long as the school has been established. No, the heart of the school, the thriving force that keeps the university alive and effective , is the students who attend. Without the consistent flow of students achieving their goals and earning their degrees, the school would not prosper or have any credibility. That is why, at any and every university, students must have the chance to receive the best resources they can to ensure they achieve their goals of graduating on time, happy and healthy. Frostburg State University offers students multiple resources to help them adjust and continue on their journey for their bachelors degree, one of them being the Brady Health Center. Brady Health is located near the dormitories Sowers and Allen Hall, right on campus for the convenience of students. But is Brady Health really convenient for students, or could the center use some improvements to enhance quality of life for the scholars at Frostburg State University?
Let’s ask the students. In a survey taken at the Lane University Center and Lewis Ort Library, a hundred students were randomly asked questions about the Brady Health Center. Out of these one hundred students, sixty three had reported to have visited Brady at some point in their college careers, whether it be for a physical or to treat a minor injury or illness. The students who had visited Brady were then asked to rate the quality of the facility’s service on a scale of one to five, one being the absolute worst and five being the absolute best. Out of the sixty three students who did visit Brady, fifty two rated the quality of service a three or less. That means that eighty two percent of the random population thought Brady had average or less service. For a school of fifty-five hundred students where approximately thirty-five hundred to four thousand students visit the medical center every school year, it seems they should be receiving higher ratings, especially when twenty-nine out of the sixty-three who did report visiting felt worse after being treated at the Brady Health Center.
But do students actually know what can be treated on campus at FSU? One problem some students may face is they don’t exactly know what resources they truly have on their campus. Brady currently staffs two nurse practitioners, one physician, one staff nurse and one CNA. Dr. Darlene Smith, Nurse Practitioner at Brady, helped clarify and inform exactly what kind of services Brady Health can provide for students. Brady Health is meant to mimic an “Urgent Care” or any regular doctor’s office, meaning they are not equipped like a hospital for any serious medical emergencies. If an emergency is presented at Brady, the student is assessed by a staff member until the ambulance from the hospital arrives. What is most commonly treated at Brady is the common cold, STI/STD testing, immunizations, and the option of birth control. Dr. Darlene Smith commented on some misconceptions of what Brady has to offer, “Students may not realize that Brady can do many tests that an Urgent Care can do, but at a lower, more affordable cost for college students.”
An improvement Brady currently has underway is the expansion of their office. When the new Health Science building is completed, Brady will relocate to a bigger work space, something Dr. Smith said was a “big change” for the facility. The expansion of the Brady could include more space for equipment and comfortability of the students, which would play a huge role in improvement of service.
Frostburg’s Brady Health is obviously not thought of highly by most of the students, but how does Frostburg’s health facility stack up against their peer institutions. To figure this out we researched four of our peer institutions being Clarion University and California State Northridge. We used these institutions because they all share extremely similar tuition, campus size, and GPA requirements.
For clarification Brady is only open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 am to 5 pm and Friday 9 am to 4 pm and closed on all days the University is closed, they also charge a minimum $15 fee for every visit. To schedule an appointment at Brady you must come in and talk to an employee, and then you will be able to be seen within 3 hours of that time.
California State Northridge’s Klotz center is open Monday through Wednesday: from 8 a.m. to 5 pm, Thursday: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Friday: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Northridge’s services include immunization, vision, x-rays test and dental work. Clarion University’s health center is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m., 12:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m. They offer immunization treatment of illnesses and injuries Physical Exams Women's Health Screening for sexually transmitted infections (Male and Female) Immunizations and Allergy Injections, they also only charge 5$ a service no matter what you can also schedule online.
As you can tell even though these other institutions have a lot of benefits over Brady. For example, at Clarion university they offer the same treatment as Brady but can be up to 20$ cheaper. At Northridge’s health service has a plethora of different services, like vision and dental treatment, while Brady has nothing of the sort. I think if Brady has limitations on service price and Services they should try to extend hours to make it better than the competitors. Especially In a frigid area like Frostburg, Maryland, where viruses are more likely to spread; it should be an important feature to have access to health care for a long time in the day.
Links:
Above is a direct link to the Brady Health Center's home page. It provides you with the most basic of information such as hours of operation and location, while other tabs and links are there to help you narrow down your search.
This link provides clear instructions on what number to call if one is in an emergency situation. It also provides a list of other resources and medical services, including three taxi numbers, that would be helpful in any time of crisis.
Meet the staff! The faces that will meet you at the door and handle your case can be seen through this link. Also listed are their titles, from CNA to NP to MD, their credentials are there alongside email addresses and office numbers.
Above is the machine Students use to sign in at Brady. This photo is relevant because it shows how the system works at Brady and the price for their service.
Above is the Womans Screening Room at Brady. This is Relevant because it gives te readers an idea of the quality equipment brady has to offer.
Above is the Waiting room at Brady Health Room. This is relevant because it gives the reader a view of what the inside of Brady looks like.
Vanessa Mukendi, a Frostburg State University Senior, only one semester away from graduation was one case that slipped through the cracks of our great institution. Her coming to Frostburg had a lot to do with its affordability in comparison to other schools she applied to. Vanessa was a part of the class of 2018, yes, but she was also a member of SAS, the Sustainability Awareness Society. The purpose of SAS on this campus and other campuses is to get more people involved in and aware of things going on in the constantly changing environment around them. As an Environmental Science major, Vanessa was drawn to the impact SAS was making on campus and off campus. In 2017 a Bottom Line article reported that “…the Sustainability Awareness Society (SAS) attended a lobbying day in Annapolis, Md. to support the ban of fracking in Maryland.” The ban was later approved by the Maryland General Assembly. This goes to show how engaged of a student Vanessa was. When she wasn’t in class, she was taking a hands-on approach to it.
Certainly, her anticipation to get out into the real world with the movers and shakers was high this Fall semester. Unfortunately, what she calls a “misdiagnosis” by Brady Health completely threw her off track for graduation. “Brady is a decent environment, but I feel like they misdiagnose a lot. I was having serious problems for a while and they told me it was just a virus, so I didn’t think anything of it.” The 'serious problem' Vanessa referred to in an interview was formally diagnosed as bowel obstruction from the hospital. Consequently, she had to undergo what was supposed to be a two-hour surgery that dragged into 4 hours under the knife after complications surfaced. A day after the surgery Vanessa found out she had an infection so although, "...they said I could leave I five days...I ended up being there for two and a half weeks." Initially, while still on campus and symptoms were just emerging, Vanessa says she went to Brady. " They should have more equipment. I feel like they can't diagnose because there's not a lot of stuff to tell with." After a period of two months, Vanessa decided to go to the hospital. She is expected to make full recovery by July and will be reregistering for the Fall 2018 semester in August. She needs only three more classes to graduate.
Sidebar Story Vanessa's Life
Vanessa Mukendi, or "Ness" as her friends and family call her is an Environmental Science at Frostburg State University and will be a senior when she returns from her short hiatus. She lived what she self described as a “good life”. Vanessa Mukendi was born on September 15 1996 in Prince Georges County, Maryland. She lives in a two parent house hold with her two younger siblings Alexis and Victoria. She always thought of herself as the caretaker for her younger siblings. In her younger years her hobbies included watching cartoons and drawing. “My favorite thing to draw would always be nature and SpongeBob characters, and of course that was also my favorite show to watch.” Vanessa stated. Vanessa has always felt great gratification in helping others. Vanessa was a part of the safety patrol at her elementary school, the safety patrol was a group of older students that would help younger kids get to their school bus and home safely.
She really realized this about this about herself in her junior high school years. Vanessa was always more advanced when it came to the school work according to her teachers. She had a specific connection to her math teacher Mrs. Allen. Her teacher would always call upon her to help her out, by helping out other kids that were struggling on assignments.” I remember back in 6th grade my math teacher and I would have this connection, where we would just kind of wink at each other when she’s helping other kids with work and that was my cue to find someone else and to try to help them understand”. Vanessa states. That was always an enjoyable feeling and experience for her and made her feel special. Vanessa continued her leadership and caring all the way through high school and into college.
Vanessa chose to go to Frostburg State because it was the cheapest out of the schools she applied to and knowing that she had two younger siblings coming up the right behind her very soon, it made sense to choose cheapest school to make it easier on her parents.” My parents told me to choose whatever felt right for me, but the type of person I am I just chose the cheapest one, to take a little stress off of them. Vanessa states. Soon after arriving at Frostburg State Vanessa decided to join the Sustainability Awareness Society on campus. Being involved in the Sustainability Awareness Society means that Vanessa shows great interest in things that are going on in that are constantly changing environment around her. When asked what made her join the society Vanessa stated, “I always loved the feeling of fresh air and being in nature, it bothers me when I hear the environment is changing constantly changing for the worst, so I just decided to spend my time doing something positive for something I feel strongly about.” In the future Vanessa just wants a job in which she can be involved in nature and where she can make a difference. If Vanessa keeps her work ethic morals she can become comeback stronger next semester and achieve her goals.
