Empower Yourself-Get Tested!

Hey, it’s Anne Herzog Rousseau, a Nurse Practitioner here at Bentley. In honor of World Aids Day, I wanted to remind you to Empower Yourself, Get Tested!

Regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or sexual history, we are all at risk.

Did you know...

·         1 in 5 US citizens with HIV are unaware of their status. (CDC-Center for Disease Control and Prevention)

·         ¾ college students have not been tested for HIV. (National Collegiate Health Assessment)

Did you also know...

·         We offer HIV (and STI -- Sexually Transmitted Infection) testing right here on campus? WELL, WE DO!

HIV testing on campus consists of two office visits, each about a half hour in length. At the first visit we assess your health history and any specific risk factors for HIV. We can answer ANY and ALL questions you have.  We then collect a specimen for the test. At the second visit we show you your results and go over them with you.

Our appointments are CONFIDENTIAL and the cost is $30. Paying in cash helps to assure confidentiality.

All you have to do is make an appointment with me or any of the nurse practitioners in our office—we’d be happy to see you.

Here are some great resources on STDs, HIV and testing:

World Aids Day site

It's Your Sex Life-Get Yourself tested site

Centers for Diesease Control and Prevention Information on Sexually Transmitted Infections

Planned Parenthood information on Safer Sex and STD's

Thinking About Quitting

Hey Falcons! It’s Jessica, your resident Alcohol and Other Drugs Education Specialist. Today marks the 36^th Annual Great American Smokeout. If you choose to smoke, or have loved ones who choose to smoke, it’s a great day to get information and resources to help you or your friends/family make a plan to quit.

Tobacco is one of the only drugs that when used as intended, can cause death. According to the American Cancer Society, tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the US, yet more than 46 million Americans still smoke.

On our campus, based on data collect from the national Collegiate Health Assessment in the Spring of 2010, 83% of our students reported they DID NOT smoke within the past month.

We at the Center for Health and Wellness know that quitting can be difficult. Don’t be afraid to make an appointment to speak with one of our Nurse Practitioners to discuss your options for quitting. Additionally, I can help students with setting goals and establishing a quitting plan. We also have some brochures in our office about quitting.

If you are motivated to do it on your own, we think the following websites are helpful:

http://makesmokinghistory.org/quitting.html

http://www.smokefree.gov/

http://www.cancer.org/Healthy/StayAwayfromTobacco/GreatAmericanSmokeout/ 

http://www.goaskalice.com/7428.html

Be well,

Jessica

Jessica Greher Traue
Assistant Director, Wellness
Coordinator, Alcohol and Other Drugs Education

jtraue@bentley.edu

How Much is Enough?

Hey, it's Deanna Busteed, Bentley's resident nutrition and fitness expert. It's time to answer a question I get ALL the time...how much exercise is enough?

Last July, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)  released new recommendations on the quantity and quality of exercise for adults.

They recommend that most adults to engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate- intensity exercise per week or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week. A good way to tell if you are exercising at a moderate intensity is the "talk test". If you can talk while exercising but can't sing, then you are exercising moderately. Some examples include, brisk walking, cycling less than 10 mph, swimming, dancing or tennis. Jogging and cycling uphill are examples of vigorous-intensity workouts.

There's no right way to get your 150 minutes--it's whatever works for you, your level of fitness and your schedule. Some people may choose to exercise 30 minutes, 5 times a week, others may elect for longer duration workouts less frequently. Still others work in short workouts throughout the day. The most important thing is to get moving!

Remember, besides going to the Dana Center gym, you can join an intramural team, take free ballroom or latin dance classes or watch a fitness dvd or sign up for classes in the Slade Wellness Studio.

If these options don't work for you, I really like this dorm room workout.


Below are some videos we created of three exercises you can do in your room too!

Don't be afraid to contact our office with any nutrition, fitness or health questions--781.891.2222.

Until next time..B Healthy and B Fit!

-Deanna

Deanna Busteed MS, RD, CSSD, LD
Clinical Dietition/Sports Nutritionist/Coordinator of Fitness Classes
Center for Health and Wellness

Welcome Falcons

Hey Bentley Falcons!

This is our first blog entry! We think a blog should give you some valuable information! We hope to use this site to give you a sneak peek into the world of health at Bentley with special tips on health news, exercise, eating, sleep, and stress--these are all areas you told us you want to hear more about!! We'll try to add to this blog once a week--let us know what you want more information on by emailing us with ideas or questions.
I always start the fall with a combination of excitement and trepidation! We missed you over the summer and can't wait to see you back here. What will this year bring in my world of health? Will there be any flu epidemic this year? How can we do our best to get you seen quickly and efficiently? It is important for us to have good systems in place--management 101--my mission! Are there any tips we can give you? (here's a few to get your year started!)

• Take 10 minutes each day to be alone without a cell phone on and just take some deep breaths
• Take a walk with an old friend or a new friend--two loops around the campus gives you some good exercise in the nice weather!
• Eat a few pieces of fruit each day
• Read something (not school work) at bedtime for 10 minutes--you may sleep better!
• Find one person at Bentley who listens--who you can talk to if you have any worries!
• Wash your hands!

You may wonder what we do all summer while you are not here!
How did we spend our summer?

• Reviewed 1300 health forms on incoming students and input data into their electronic medial records. Made sure their immunizations were up to date and in compliance with state immunization laws. Made sure all students had health insurance--again another state law in Massachusetts. if we are out of compliance there are BIG fines! Fortunately, we have 100% compliance rate due to the hard work of Mary McCarthy, our coordinator of immunizations!
• started this new Blog!
• Updated our facebook page.
• Created a NEW schedule for fitness classes at times you asked for!
• Put a Q & A on our website to help you navigate the health care system.
• Continued to work to get a secure email system in place for communication between you and providers.
• Created a new on-line booklet to help survivors of sexual assault, their friends and family (we'll send it by email to you and also look for it on our website in September)
• Reviewed our Satisfaction Survey--found that 89% of our surveyed students were either satisfied or very satisfied with our services as compared to 82% of surveyed students nationally.
• Updated and improved our electronic medical records system to make charting more efficient and get you seen and back to class quicker.
• Planning done for on-campus support groups for students with chronic illness--Diabetes and Crohn's coming in January 2012

Check out our blog next week for tips on how to set an easy exercise routine each day! Don't forget to email us with questions or ideas for this blog!

In good health,

Gerri Taylor
Associate Dean for Health and Wellness