Outstanding work recognized
National organization honors UD’s Student Health Services director
12:06 p.m., April 4, 2011--Dr. Joseph Siebold, director of Student Health Services at the University of Delaware, has received the American College Health Association’s Ollie B. Moten Award for Outstanding Service to One’s Institution.
The American College Health Association (ACHA), with 900 member universities, is the principal leadership organization for the field of college health and provides services, communications and advocacy to help members advance the health of their campus communities.
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“I was totally surprised with the call that I received telling me that I was nominated and chosen for the award,” Siebold said. “I am very thankful for this recognition and to be honored by my peers.”
The award commemorates the work of Ollie B. Moten, past chair of the Nursing Section of ACHA and former director of the Student Health Center at Texas Southern University in Houston. Established in 1982, it recognizes ACHA members who have made a significant impact on the institution of higher education in which they work.
A board certified pediatrician, Siebold also is certified in Adolescent Medicine, and is one of only 500 physicians certified by this subboard.
Siebold, who came to UD in 1975, said that Student Health Services, located in Laurel Hall offers a unique brand of health care that is convenient to students and appreciated by parents.
In addition, Siebold noted, a Sports Medicine Clinic facility located in the Bob Carpenter Center also provides primary care both in- and out-of-season for over 600 NCAA student-athletes.
“Many of our staff here have sons and daughters who attend the University,” Siebold said. “I believe that our staff provides the same level of medical care that they would want members of their family to receive.”
Nationally accredited by the Accreditation Association of Ambulatory Health Care, the Student Health Center also has a nationally accredited laboratory that is totally integrated electronically with Lab Corps and the Delaware Public Health Laboratory, Siebold said.
“We have an electronic medical record system and digitalized radiography services, which are provided at Laurel Hall in cooperation with Papastavros Associates Medical Imaging,” Siebold said. “We also are a training site for medicine, pediatric and family practice residents and we train nurse practitioners from the UD School of Nursing in the College of Health Sciences and those from other universities. In our staffing and our medical technology we are state-of-the-art in university health centers.”
When the University became the epicenter for the H1N1 influenza in the spring of 2009, staffers at the Student Health Center demonstrated their care and commitment to UD students by working around the clock and coordinating efforts with state and national health organizations, Siebold said.
“The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) [www/cdc.gov] had upwards of 10 physicians and researchers working here for almost three weeks,” Siebold said. “Because of our excellent medical records and the care we initially provided, the CDC was able to gather a tremendous amount of information that helped formulate its policy during the weeks immediately after the outbreak.”
Siebold co-authored a research paper with the CDC on that outbreak.
While capable of responding to a significant health care emergency, Student Health Services also provides a wide range of day-to-day services, including a dispensary (medications), immunizations and allergy injections, self-care for colds and minor wounds, nutrition services and in-patient services.
In addition to a full range of services for all students through the medical clinic, Student Health Services also has a Women’s Health Clinic with an all-female staff, including a gynecologist, women’s health nurse practitioners and a registered nursing staff with training and experience in gynecology, Siebold said.
With financial support by AstraZeneca, Student Health Services has launched Healthy HENS [www.udel.edu/studenthealth/healthyhens/] (Healthy Exercise Nutrition and Sleep), a program offering preventive screenings, wellness promotion services and a variety of activities and educational outreach efforts, Siebold said.
“Students who come to Student Health Services get a lot of tender loving care,” Siebold said. “I thank God every day for the privilege of working at UD, to be involved in the care of our students and to work with such a caring and talented staff.”
Article by Jerry Rhodes