Responding to community needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, staff in Trent Student Health Services (TSHS) are playing their part and continuing to support student health.

As the COVID-19 outbreak escalated globally, TSHS has been implementing emergency protocols that not only minimize the spread of the virus, but also maintain quality care for the standing health concerns of Trent Students.

“Making quick decisions and adapting to changing guidelines from health authorities is completely different in reality than theory,” says Caitlin Lindsay, team leader of Trent Student Health Services. “We figured out a way to operate that supports the health care system as a whole, keeping patients out of the ER and away from the hospital.”

On a regular day during the academic year, Trent Student Health Services staff see nearly 50 students a day, five days a week. That number has not changed since the COVID-19 situation escalated in Canada, Ontario and Peterborough.

Juggling Health Responses
TSHS frontline health care workers set up triage and screening processes for COVID-19 at the clinic, and became actively involved in conversations with Peterborough Public Health. At the same time, they have adapted the delivery of health services for students, transitioning to conducting the majority of appointments over the phone.

“At this time of year, we’re generally fully booked for two to three weeks out,” says Stewart Engleberg, director of the Student Wellness Centre at Trent University. “We wanted to ensure that the clinic was set up to continue addressing the existing and ongoing needs of Trent students.”

Maintaining Quality Care
TSHS staff are continuing to provide students with follow-up care from previous appointments and support for mental and sexual health concerns, among other reasons. Most students with existing appointments at the time of TSHS’s pandemic response kept their appointments, and new appointments are still being schedule.

With their focus on providing regular medical services to the student community and screening for COVID-19, TSHS also donated all of its testing kits to Peterborough Public Health, another way they are helping the community stay healthy.

In times like these, when just the presence of extreme public health measures can have a significant impact on our well-being, the ongoing work of TSHS is extremely valuable.

“As we now predominantly interact with clients on the phone, we are taking these phone calls as opportunities to link-in, offer some form of normalcy and reassurance,” says Ms. Lindsay. “It’s a point of connection in a day with minimal social interaction. We are so used to identifying isolation as a point of vulnerability, now it is almost a societal strength, if we can maintain it.”