Parents' Page

Questions from parents:

1. How can I get medical information on my child?

Back in the 70's the concept of in loco parentis (The school was considered a parent) ruled. However, during the late 70s and 80s this was changed by legislation assuming that all 18 year olds were adults and had the right to privacy, especially in their medical records. Therefore, unless your student is "a danger to himself/herself or others" we are not allowed to share their medical information with you without their written permission.

What can you do about this?

Two things come to mind: First, encourage communication with your child, so that the first person they want to call in a medical crisis is you! Most of the students today have cell phones and with their permission, we can communicate freely and immediately!

Second, if your child has a chronic condition like diabetes, where they may have a crisis and be unconscious or not able to give us permission, we suggest that they fill out and sign a release ahead of time allowing us to contact you any time about THAT PARTICULAR CONDITION. This allows them to make decisions about their day-to-day health, but protects them in a crisis.

Obviously, if your child is in an emergency situation, (meningitis, car accident), I will contact the Vice President for Student Affairs and one of us will attempt to track you down quickly.

By-the-by, if your student fills out the Health History Form for us (available on this website under "Fees for service" or "FAQs"), make sure they list numbers where we can find you in emergencies. One time we had a diabetic student who filled out his own form and did not list any numbers for his folks. When he went into a diabetic coma and was taken to the hospital, it took the Vice-President and I two hours to track down the parents at work (which also scared them to death). So, please put your cell phones and work numbers on the Health History form.

2) Why can't you take my insurance card from work for my child's medical bills?

We give excellent and caring medical care here at ESU, but we are a relatively small group with limited $$ and facilities. As you know, dealing with health insurance companies is a full time job, and we just don't have the resources to do it at this time.

One way to help our students achieve the goal of becoming responsible adults is to expect them to make appointments for medical care and be responsible for their (small) medical charges here at the time of service. As parents ourselves, we believe that this puts the responsibility for health on the students, where it belongs. We give the students a receipt after they pay us, which can be submitted to your insurance company if you so desire. Our charges are much less than those in the "real world", and students learn to budget and prioritize. (Hmmm...should I pay my $4 cholesterol test at the Health Center or get a new $35 tattoo?)

The only insurance card we accept right now is the one from United Healthcare-Student Resources, the company contracted with by the Kansas Board of Regents. If your child has this insurance, there is a $5 co-pay for lab tests and a small co-pay for prescriptions, but most other stuff is covered 100% here. If you are interested in this very reasonably priced insurance, you can contact them at http://www.student-resources.net.

3) What vaccinations does my child need?

The State of Kansas mandates certain vaccinations for entrance into school (tetanus, Measles/mumps/rubella, etc), so if your child graduated from high school in Kansas, you probably have the minimum already. You can send us a copy of the Pink Baby Book or request a Kansas Certificate of Immunization (KCI) from your high school. We like to have these things on file in case of an outbreak or the need for re-vaccination.

We also recommend that your child have Hepatitis B (blood borne) and Hepatitis A (food borne) vaccinations for his/her protection. Your local health Department is a good resource for these vaccinations, or we can do them after your child arrives at ESU.

There were four cases of bacterial meningitis at universities in Kansas from December 2003 to April 2004. (None at ESU). While your chance of contracting meningitis at ESU is less than your chance of getting hit by a car crossing Merchant Street, it can be FATAL or have serious consequences (loss of limbs, brain damage, etc). Therefore, the State of Kansas has mandated that students at highest risk (those living in Residence Halls) either have documentation of vaccination or sign a refusal.  Risk factors for bacterial meningitis are living in shared quarters (residence halls/barracks), sharing glasses/ cigarettes, visiting smoky bars, smooching, etc-stuff that college kids may do. (I'm sure your child and mine would never do this, but it's better to be safe than sorry!)