Thank you for visiting the Staff and Faculty resource page!

University Health and Counseling Services is a unified department here to support USM student success by keeping them healthy.  Please explore our website for information about our mission, services, staff, fees, and hours.  We are also a resource for the non-student USM community.  Please read the following frequently asked questions to learn more!

 Frequently asked questions:

I am working with a student who has a health problem and I want to help them be seen as soon as possible.  How can I best help them?

Staff and faculty are often the first to identify students who are struggling with a health problem.  They might be missing classes or showing other signs of illness.  In order to ensure we can give students the best quality care possible, we see patients by appointment.  You can give the student our phone numbers (780-5411=Gorham or 780-4211=Portland) or even help the student make the call while they are with you.   We will help them book an appointment appropriately.   For true medical emergencies (e.g., a student is having difficulty breathing, has lost consciousness, etc), please call Campus Police at 911 from a campus phone (or 780-5211 from a cell phone). 

A student has been injured during class.  Should I just walk the student over to your office?  

The best first step in an injury is to call USM Police at 911 (from a campus phone)  or 780-5211 (from a cell phone).  USM policy encourages a Police report for any on-campus injury.  The police officers are trained in basic first aid.  If the student needs further care or assessment, please call us (780-5411in Gorham or 780-4211 in Portland) to make an appointment.  We will usually be able to see the student right away.  A professional triage nurse will assess the level of care the student will need and we will be best prepared for their visit. Sometimes we will refer the student on to an emergency room when appropriate.  Because we are often booked seeing students, calling first works best for everyone.

I injured myself at work.  Can I come over to your office and be seen?  How do I help a student worker in the same situation?

Regular staff,  faculty and student workers should all start by making their supervisor aware of the injury.  An injury report form should be completed and filed with Claire Hassler in Human Resources.  Please see the Human Resources http://usm.maine.edu/hrs/benefits/forms/injury_report.pdf  website to download that form.  If the injury is acute (e.g., a cut sustained at work or a slip-and-fall injury), a call to Police at 911 (from a campus phone)  or 780-5211 (from a cell phone) is again the first best step.  They will make a police report and can provide first aid care and assessment.  If further care is needed for an injury sustained at work (for student workers and staff/faculty alike), Claire Hassler (x5175) will probably recommend that the worker be seen at Bayside Employee Health Center (780-6631). 

I know you primarily only see USM students but what services do you provide to USM Staff and Faculty and how much are these services?

•  Influenza vaccines are offered to all USM staff, faculty and retirees—every fall we provide postings and information about timing of these clinics.  For those with UMS insurance, if you bring a copy of your insurance card, there is no out-of-pocket expense—we bill the insurance directly.   For those without the insurance, the fee is determined by cost of vaccine and is payable by cash, check or charge. 

•  Hepatitis B vaccines are offered to employees whose jobs require them in a 3 dose series.  You will be given a voucher for the free vaccines through the Office for Environmental Safety Department—please call for an appointment once you have this voucher.

•  Blood pressure checks are offered by appointment as a screening or as a recommendation by their primary care provider.  There is a fee of $5 for each visit.  These visits are designed to measure blood pressure but are not meant to replace visits with your primary care provider responsible for making treatment or medication decisions.  At certain times throughout the year such as at the Employee Wellness Fair or during other tabling events, our staff will be available for free blood pressure screening.

• Travel clinic appointments are offered to staff and faculty.  These are visits where a nurse will help assess your travel immunization and educational needs.  There is a charge for the visit and vaccines which is payable by cash, check or charge.  Please call for an appointment.

• Other services may be available depending upon demand or need in special circumstances such as offering MMR vaccinations to employees during the mumps outbreak Spring 2008.

I’ve read about Wellness programming, is this your department? 

University Health Services often works in-tandem with the Employee Wellness Department but we have different missions.  Our department offers wellness and health education programming primarily to students through outreach in Residence Halls and other groups or tabling events on campus.  The Employee Wellness Department focuses on that same kind of education for USM employees.   Sometimes we work together when our audiences overlap such as educating our community with reminders about good hand hygiene or public heath alerts.

Thank you for your interest.  We hope this information has been helpful.  Please call us with further questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Larisa Semenuk, Clinical Director, Health Services, Gorham 780-5411

Ann Conley, Clinical Director, Health Services, Portland 780-4211