Help your student have a healthy summer

Remind your student to establish a healthy summer routine, which includes staying hyrdated.
Remind your student to establish a healthy summer routine, which includes staying hyrdated.

As the spring semester comes to a close, there are several ways you can support your student to ensure they have a healthy, safe summer.

Boost your student’s physical well-being with these tips from the University Health Center.

1. Have your student transfer their existing prescriptions to their summer address.
If your student is moving back home, remind them to take care of this before they leave town so there is no disruption in their medications. Mail order delivery may be another option depending on the pharmacy your student uses. The health center pharmacy offers free mail order delivery for those who qualify.

2. If your student is leaving Lincoln and receiving routine care for an ongoing medical or mental health concerns, help them transition care to a local health care facility.
The health center collaborates with students’ hometown providers to create a smooth, seamless transition of care over breaks. If a student isn’t sure how to start this process, have them contact their Lincoln health care provider for advice.

Is your student graduating? Congratulations! When they settle in their new routine, empower them to find a family medicine or internal medicine provider in their area. It’s important that they visit with this new doctor as soon as possible to establish care. This will make things smoother when they get sick down the road.

Nebraska Medicine, which manages the University Health Center, has 1,000 doctors and 20+ locations, including five immediate care clinics, 15 health centers and two medical centers in the Omaha metro area, Plattsmouth and Grand Island. If your student graduated and lives nearby, try our Find a Doctor tool to get set up with a new provider.

3. Remind your student to get vaccinated.
If they haven’t received their COVID-19 vaccine yet, summer is a great time to mark this off their to-do list. If they already registered with Lancaster County and did not schedule an appointment for the vaccine, encourage your student to register in their summer county of residence so that they can receive the vaccine locally. For more information about COVID-19 vaccines, visit the health center website.

4. Help them maintain a healthy summer routine.
Encourage your student to use summer as an opportunity to press the reset button on their health. It’s the perfect time to establish a sleep routine, improve their nutritional habits and be intentional about their physical activity. Remind them to take time for their mental health and practice self-care daily. Because summer often means increased outdoor activity, remind them to stay hydrated, wear proper sun protection and watch out for signs of heat exhaustion.

The University Health Center is open over the summer Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed Saturday and Sunday. In addition to in-person care, telehealth care is available to those who live in Nebraska or another eligible state (per medical licensure laws). Students can make appointments by calling 402.472.5000. If your student is located outside of Nebraska and wishes to schedule a telehealth visit, they can inquire about location eligibility when making an appointment.

More details at: https://health.unl.edu/