Preventive maintenance for students

Heading off to college means heading off to a new environment.

In intellectual terms, that can be stimulating. In health terms, it can be riskier, say experts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.

Get immunized, urges Katrin Wesner, Rensselaer's health systems manager. She notes that with geographically diverse populations now converging on campus, more colleges are requiring meningitis inoculations. She adds that Rensselaer also recommends students have the hepatitis B vaccine and a yearly flu shot. This is in addition to the usually required measles-mumps-rubella, tuberculosis, and tetanus vaccines.

"Call the student health center to understand in advance what is required or recommended, and in turn, what vaccinations the university may offer for free or at reduced cost."

Check out health insurance. If the student is still covered by the family health policy, make sure he or she carries a valid insurance card at all times and knows how to use it -- including the particulars about referrals and co-payments. Some colleges now offer student health plans, which may make the process less complicated. "Freshmen are learning to care for their own health for the first time," said Terri Kersch, Rensselaer health educator. "Regardless of your choice, plan ahead by instructing your student about the details of the insurance policy."

You have a right to know what the campus crisis and emergency preparedness involves, says Wesner. "Your student's future alma mater should have a comprehensive crisis and emergency preparedness plan in place."

That should cover plans to deal with natural disasters, terrorism, and campus crime. Wesner says Rensselaer, for example, posts a Safety and Preparedness section on the school's Web site.

If your college-bound son or daughter has a history of depression, anxiety or eating disorders, set up a safety net that will enable the college to keep parental lines of communication open.

Students over 18 are considered adults in terms of patient-doctor privacy; a permission note, signed by the student and filed with the university's health center, will let the doctor keep parents informed of any changes in their child's mental health. "Without an individual's written OK, we can contact parents only if a student presents an imminent threat to harm themselves or others," said Joe Albert, director of Rensselaer's counseling center.

Fighting meningitis

In Lexington Park, Md., a campaign about the dangers of meningitis, aimed at parents of college-age children, has been launched by the National Meningitis Association.

Called "Moms on Meningitis" (or M.O.M.s), the campaign is a coalition of mothers across the U.S. whose college-age children were afflicted with the disease. They urge parents to have their children immunized before opening day on campus.

College students, especially freshmen living in dormitories, are particularly susceptible to contracting meningococcal meningitis, the organization says.

NMA estimates that up to 80 percent of on-campus cases could have been prevented with vaccine.

About 2,500 Americans get this disease each year, with a 10 to 15 percent fatality rate. Of those who survive, almost 20 percent sustain permanent disabilities such as brain damage, hearing loss, or limb amputations.

Young and obese

Parents and educators agree that regular exercise is essential to combat obesity in kids. But the kids now don't have enough opportunity and encouragement to get the exercise they need, they say.

"In the last 20 years the proportion of overweight children between ages 6 and 19 has tripled to nearly one of every three kids," said Dr. George Graham, president of the National Association for Sport & Physical Education. It's a national crisis, he says, because overweight children are likely to become physically inactive, obese adults.

His organization surveyed over 2,038 parents and found, not surprisingly, that they thought physical exercise is needed and should be encouraged.

At the same time, however, many school districts are cutting back on their physical education programs to make more time for standardized testing in academic areas, said Dr. Judith C. Young, NASPE executive director.

"If parents see physical activity as a key to helping children do better academically and that physical education could help solve the obesity problem, then families, schools and communities need to create more opportunities for children to have physical education and be more physically active," Graham said.