{"id":4051,"date":"2018-08-15T07:38:29","date_gmt":"2018-08-15T12:38:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=4051"},"modified":"2021-05-18T09:10:40","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T14:10:40","slug":"3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Three steps to help your college student to take care of their own health"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Get prepped for the school year<\/p>\n

Sign up for OSF MyChart<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s that time of year again \u2013 when bright-eyed freshmen appear on college campuses across the country eager to be on their own for the first time.<\/p>\n

But for the parents left behind, there can be some anxiety. You\u2019ve talked them through making good choices and warned them to actually attend their classes. Is there any more you can do to prepare them?<\/p>\n

Dr. Robin Punsalan, pediatrician with OSF HealthCare Medical Group \u2013 Byron<\/a>, says yes.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany teens don\u2019t even know how to make a doctor\u2019s appointment,\u201d Dr. Punsalan said. \u201cWe try to encourage teens who come through our office to be more involved in their health care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before sending your kids off to school, here are three things to discuss with them.<\/p>\n

1. Plan ahead for health needs<\/h2>\n

Many college students are moving to a brand new city \u2013 which means a brand new health care network. The best time to figure out where to go with health problems is before they happen, Dr. Punsalan said.<\/p>\n

The first step is to talk to the college your student will be attending to learn about their on-campus health clinic. Many schools have a fairly comprehensive clinic where most health needs can be covered.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf not, find a provider in the area and get established right away,\u201d Dr. Punsalan said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also good to know in advance what urgent care clinics and emergency departments your child can go to.<\/p>\n

Having your teen in an emergency department in another town would be stressful and scary enough without having to deal with poor care or out-of-network insurance fees.<\/p>\n

Then talk to your teen about where to go when they\u2019re sick or injured, as well as what they need to bring when seeking health care or visiting the pharmacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can help to make a reference sheet of where to go,\u201d Dr. Punsalan said.<\/p>\n

2. Teach them when to seek care<\/h2>\n

In addition to not knowing where to go, many teens may not know when they should see a provider \u2013 or they may try to \u201ctough it out\u201d when they should really be seeking care.<\/p>\n

Make sure your teen knows how to seek the right care at the right place, Dr. Punsalan said.<\/p>\n

One great resource is OSF OnCall<\/a>. This urgent care service is available 24\/7 for anyone in Illinois.<\/p>\n

Minor illnesses and injuries can be diagnosed and treated through a computer, tablet or smartphone for a flat fee of $35. If the issue can\u2019t be resolved virtually, your teen will be referred to in-person care and won\u2019t be charged for the consult.<\/p>\n

Because there\u2019s no charge when referred to in-person care, it can be a good resource to help \u201ctriage\u201d your teen to the correct level of care, Dr. Punsalan said.<\/p>\n

3. Talk through their medical history<\/h2>\n

Finally, make sure your teen can relay a basic medical history when visiting a provider, Dr. Punsalan said.<\/p>\n

They should know if they have any medical conditions and what surgeries they have had. Your teen should also be able to list their medications, dosages and allergies.<\/p>\n

Being able to share that information can help a provider more accurately diagnose and treat conditions and help avoid unnecessary testing, Dr. Punsalan said.<\/p>\n

For OSF HealthCare patients, using the OSF MyChart app<\/a> can give your teen instant access to their medical information when they need it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Get prepped for the school year Sign up for OSF MyChart It\u2019s that time of year again \u2013 when bright-eyed freshmen appear on college campuses across the country eager to be on their own for the first time. But for the parents left behind, there can be some anxiety. You\u2019ve talked them through making good […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":4057,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[129,116],"tags":[35,453,214,759],"coauthors":[681],"class_list":["post-4051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-miscellaneous","category-pediatrics","tag-college","tag-osf-mychart","tag-osf-oncall","tag-school"],"yoast_head":"\n3 steps to help your college student to take care of their own health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"One important thing you can do to prepare your new college student to be on their own for the first time is to teach them how to navigate the health care system.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 steps to help your college student to take care of their own health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Teaching your new college student how to navigate the health care system will set them up for life.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OSF HealthCare Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/osfhealthcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-08-15T12:38:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-05-18T14:10:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_184855727.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katie Whitt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"3 steps to help your college student to take care of their own health\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Teaching your new college student how to navigate the health care system will set them up for life.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_184855727.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@osfhealthcare\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@osfhealthcare\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katie Whitt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/\",\"name\":\"3 steps to help your college student to take care of their own health\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_184855727.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-15T12:38:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-18T14:10:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2005b4d7e6476ca7cc67b6bfc7604b14\"},\"description\":\"One important thing you can do to prepare your new college student to be on their own for the first time is to teach them how to navigate the health care system.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_184855727.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_184855727.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Parents help college student pack for school\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Three steps to help your college student to take care of their own health\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"OSF HealthCare Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2005b4d7e6476ca7cc67b6bfc7604b14\",\"name\":\"Katie Whitt\",\"description\":\"Katie Whitt is the content manager for OSF HealthCare, where she has worked since January 2016. Originally from Valparaiso, Indiana, she came to Peoria to earn her Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Bradley University. Before joining OSF, she worked as a copy editor for both the Peoria Journal Star and The Bloomington Pantagraph. In her spare time, Katie enjoys traveling, reading anything she can get her hands on and spending shameful amounts of time watching Netflix. She justifies her couch time with kickboxing and running.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/author\/kwhitt\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"3 steps to help your college student to take care of their own health","description":"One important thing you can do to prepare your new college student to be on their own for the first time is to teach them how to navigate the health care system.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"3 steps to help your college student to take care of their own health","og_description":"Teaching your new college student how to navigate the health care system will set them up for life.","og_url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/","og_site_name":"OSF HealthCare Blog","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/osfhealthcare","article_published_time":"2018-08-15T12:38:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-05-18T14:10:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_184855727.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Katie Whitt","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"3 steps to help your college student to take care of their own health","twitter_description":"Teaching your new college student how to navigate the health care system will set them up for life.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_184855727.jpg","twitter_creator":"@osfhealthcare","twitter_site":"@osfhealthcare","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Katie Whitt","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/","url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/","name":"3 steps to help your college student to take care of their own health","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_184855727.jpg","datePublished":"2018-08-15T12:38:29+00:00","dateModified":"2021-05-18T14:10:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2005b4d7e6476ca7cc67b6bfc7604b14"},"description":"One important thing you can do to prepare your new college student to be on their own for the first time is to teach them how to navigate the health care system.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_184855727.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_184855727.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Parents help college student pack for school"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-help-your-college-student-to-take-care-of-their-own-health\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Three steps to help your college student to take care of their own health"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/","name":"OSF HealthCare Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2005b4d7e6476ca7cc67b6bfc7604b14","name":"Katie Whitt","description":"Katie Whitt is the content manager for OSF HealthCare, where she has worked since January 2016. Originally from Valparaiso, Indiana, she came to Peoria to earn her Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Bradley University. Before joining OSF, she worked as a copy editor for both the Peoria Journal Star and The Bloomington Pantagraph. In her spare time, Katie enjoys traveling, reading anything she can get her hands on and spending shameful amounts of time watching Netflix. She justifies her couch time with kickboxing and running.","url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/author\/kwhitt\/"}]}},"modified_by":"Daryl Scott","featured_image_url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_184855727.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4051"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13053,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4051\/revisions\/13053"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4051"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=4051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}