Annual Report

The COVID-19 Response and Beyond: 2020-2022

USC Student Health | Keck Medicine of USC

From the Chief Health Officer

College health is, for me, not only a lifelong avocation but a true passion. It is a field that reflects the pressing issues of our time, focuses on the well-being of a pivotal population, and ultimately, is integral to the success of every student and academic institution.

Rarely has the importance of college health been demonstrated more clearly than over the past two years. From the first coronavirus message to the USC community, shared on January 23, 2020, to the 1 millionth COVID-19 test in the spring of 2022, the university displayed an unparalleled level of commitment to our campus’ health. At every turn, our leaders held health and well-being as the highest priority, and our faculty and staff worked tirelessly to provide services through waves of disruptions. Together, we surmounted unprecedented challenges.

This annual update offers a brief snapshot of the dedication and direction of USC Student Health – including our medical and mental health providers, nursing team, administrative teams, health promotion and prevention teams, colleagues across the health care system, health professions, and campus departments, and more – as we continue to serve our students and provide guidance during the unexplored transition from pandemic to endemic times.

I am inspired by all they do and by the ongoing response of our community. Our collective work is an ever-present reflection of what we value most: our students’ mental health, physical health, and overall well-being.

Sarah Van Orman, MD, MMM, FACHA

USC Student Health

Sarah Van Orman serves as the Chief Health Officer for USC Student Health, and holds appointments as Associate Vice Provost, and Division Chief of College Health in the Keck School of Medicine of USC. She is a past president of the American College Health Association (ACHA) and in 2020, received the ACHA Edward Hitchcock Award for Outstanding Contributions in College Health. In 2022, she was awarded the 2022 Presidential Medallion of the University of Southern California, one of the institution's highest honors. Board certified in both pediatrics and internal medicine, she sees patients as a medical care provider in USC Student Health, usually on Fridays.

COVID-19 Guidance for the Campuses

Guadalupe Felix, of USC Student Health, administers one of the first COVID-19 vaccines on the USC University Park Campus to Avishai Sadan, Dean of the USC Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry.

Student Health began the campus vaccination program with 1A, health care workers, in January, 2021.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, USC Student Health provided more than 1.2 million COVID-19 tests for students, faculty, and staff. Testing was provided continuously on both campuses, and to additional USC facilities on Catalina Island, and throughout LA County.

COVID-19 Testing

As of June 2022, Student Health administered more than 1.2 million COVID tests through multiple operational sites on both the University Park Campus and Health Sciences Campus.

An around the clock response team ensured USC students, employees, and their families had access to updated information and services.

At the peak of the omicron surge in early 2022, Student Health clinical teams were testing, resulting, and caring for more than 35,000 individuals per week.

Immunizations

CAMPUS TRANSFORMS INTO...

Transforming a campus space into a mass testing and immunization site was a large-scale undertaking with cooperation from many campus partners, especially Auxiliary Services Operations.

...Immuchella

More than 5,000 new international students arrive annually each fall. Their health record verification, insurance eligibility, titers, vaccinations, COVID-19 vaccination, and tuberculosis screening are all completed by the Clinical Operations team, most within a 2-week event, nicknamed "Immuchella."

Sensitive Exam Protocol

To ensure every patient feels safe and well-informed, Student Health formalized a standard for sensitive exam protocols with trained assistants to ensure the highest quality care and comfort of patients.

The protocol and accompanying materials have served as a model at other institutions of higher education.

The trained assistant protocol for sensitive exams is explained in patient education materials, such as the Sensitive Health Exam booklet (above), and in employee training materials, such as the trained assistant instructional videos (below).

Video 1

Trained Assistant and Sensitive Exams

video 2

Female Breast Exam

video 3

Male Sensitive Exam or Rectal Exam

Care for Student Athletes

Athletic trainer Jon Yonamine (r.) assisting Boogie Ellis of Men's Basketball after an injury. Athletic medicine in USC Student Health provides care for all student-athletes. Left: Alex Weber, MD, of Orthopedics/Sports Medicine, Keck Medicine of USC. Photo: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport

Through a collaboration that enhances the unparalleled medical care provided to USC student-athletes, USC Athletics announced the full integration of its athletic medicine services with Keck Medicine of USC, through USC Student Health.

The announcement was made jointly by Charles F. Zukoski, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs; Rod Hanners, interim chief executive officer, Keck Medicine of USC; and Mike Bohn, director of USC Athletics.

“Our vision is to be the most student-athlete-centered program in the country, and providing world-class health care to our student-athletes is the very foundation of that mission. The opportunity to leverage the incredible talent, technology and innovation of Keck Medicine — a top-20 U.S. News & World Report-ranked academic medical center — will further enhance the USC student-athlete experience.”

Prevention Strategies: Consent Education and Advocates

Over this past year, Student Health increased the number of dedicated staff positions for consent education, outreach, and 24/7 advocate services.

This is a 5-fold increase in staffing over the past four years. With this investment, Student Health was able to expand a robust curriculum for all undergraduate students to understand healthy relationships and boundaries, consent, and prosocial bystander behaviors.

Advocate services are available 24/7 for survivors of sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking, and gender-based harm. Advocates are confidential, and can provide accompaniment to services; can make arrangements for transportation, academic accommodations; and can provide information on reporting options. Clients are supported from a trauma-informed lens, and all follow-up decisions for action are at the direction of the client.

Sexual Citizens: A Campus-wide Discussion

As part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April 2022, Student Health convened students, faculty, and university leadership in a day-long exploration of power, autonomy, and environment as factors in campus sexual assault.

Using the groundbreaking work captured in “Sexual Citizens: Sex, Power, and Assault on Campus,” a cross-collaborative group brought authors Jennifer S. Hirsch and Shamus Khan to the University Park Campus for in-depth discussions on socioeconomic status and control of spaces; student housing infrastructure and policy; safe social spaces for student interactions; and other factors that influence power dynamics in social and sexual encounters among undergraduate students.

This program was co-organized with the Office of the Provost, USC Academic Senate, USC Student Affairs, and the Office of the Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer.

Mental Health and Student Well-being

The expansion in the number of mental health providers (from 23 to 62 over the span of three years) with the Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Scienes, Keck School of Medicine of USC, also provided an opportunity to build out a mental health provider team of highly skilled and experienced clinicians who reflect the cultural composition and life experiences of our student community.

Working with campus partners expands the ability of Student Health to positively impact student communities. The Student Health team supported new programs by creating educational materials and emergency protocol for preserving a tooth “knocked out” by accidental trauma (dental avulsion) with the USC Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry; brought awareness to the benefits of quitting smoking and vaping with partners in the USC Workwell Center, Environmental Health and Safety, and a number of health partners of the USC campuses; and promoted education on prevention of opioid overdose using naloxone in partnership with graduate students and faculty in the USC School of Pharmacy.

Engaging students in key activities, providing support for well-being activities, producing student data that can serve to inform campus policies and programs, and providing an expanded "stepped care" model of mental health services are some the key and ongoing activities of the organization.

THE YEAR(S) IN PHOTOS

And a very special video message in 2020 to our graduates

Patient Satisfaction

Photography in this annual report by Gus Ruelas of USC, Ling Luo, and Josh Cho, unless otherwise noted.

USC Student Health is a comprehensive source for primary care, counseling and mental health services, preventive health services, and health promotion for all USC students on its two campuses: University Park (Engemann Student Health Center Building, floors 1-3) and Health Sciences (Eric Cohen Student Health Center in HC1). USC Student Health also serves as the campus public health organization, working in cooperation with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and other public health entities to ensure a healthy and safe campus environment. In 2022, USC Student Health earned designation as a LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equity Leader, an accolade reflecting our commitment to patient-centered, trauma-informed care that reduces health inequities in our communities.

Accredited by the Association for Ambulatory Health Care, Inc., all health care providers of USC Student Health and fully accredited faculty of the academic medicine departments of Keck Medicine of USC.