Jackson College has partnered with Henry Ford Allegiance Health to offer Jackson College students and employees medical care evaluation and treatment from the clinic’s caring staff. A licensed nurse practitioner and technical staff will be in the office to see patients, make diagnosis and assessment, prescribe medications or make referrals.
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HEALTH CLINIC
The Jackson College Health Clinic is closed until further notice.
If you need to speak to the health clinic staff for any reason at all, please call 517.990.1374 and leave a message.
They will return your call within 24 - 48 hours.
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Don’t Skip Your Health Care Visit
Due To COVID
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A recent poll by The Kaiser Family Foundation found that nearly half of all Americans delayed medical care due to the coronavirus pandemic (Kaiser Health News). This poll also concluded that 11 percent also noticed a worsening health condition as a result of delayed care (Japsen, 2020). As Americans abide by stay-at-home orders, medical groups and emergency rooms across the country have seen a sharp decline in number of visits. Will this delay in procedures and primary care visits lead to more serious illness and higher healthcare costs in the future?
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When To Go To The Emergency Room (ER)
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Go to the ER or call 911 if you are experiencing symptoms that could be potentially life-threatening or cause serious harm if not addressed immediately.
Examples include but are not limited to:
| • | Chest pain |
| • | Difficulty breathing |
| • | Acute injury or trauma |
| • | Signs of stroke (arm weakness, face droop, difficult speech) |
| • | Seizures |
| • | Suicidal thoughts |
| • | Severe pain anywhere in the body |
| • | High fever that does not get better with medicine |
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When To Call Your Health Care Provider
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Call your health care provider for urgent symptoms (such as new onset sore throat, knee pain, etc.), that don’t require an ER visit. When you call your health care provider’s office, they can triage your health concerns over the phone and decide what the best course of medical action is to take.
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Which In-Person Appointment Should I Keep?
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Certain health issues will require an in-person visit. Health conditions that require a specific physical examination or formal assessment before treating will need to be done in person. An example of a treatment that would need to be done in person would be allergy injections. This type of therapy is important for the person with allergies because it not only reduces the allergy symptoms but it also helps control other underlying conditions like asthma. If asthma flares up, that could potentially send the patient to the hospital. Other appointments that are recommended to continue include but are not limited to:
| • | Immunizations for children up to 24 months |
| • | Patients receiving cancer treatment |
| • | Dialysis treatments |
| • | OB/GYN visits (for things such as ultrasound, lab work, etc.). |
If you are unsure whether your appointment qualifies as an essential in-person care visit, call your health care provider.
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Which Appointments Can Be Done
Via Tele-Medicine?
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Many health care providers are still seeing patients face-to-face, but done virtually. Tele-medicine can encompass video visits, telephone visits or even e-mail visits. Telehealth appointments will look a lot like all other aspects of your normal visit to the doctor’s office including: obtaining medical history, list of medications, any allergies and any new medical symptoms. But it obviously leaves out the physical part of the examination.
Telehealth is good for managing chronic conditions like diabetes, mental health and high blood pressure. With that said, conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes do require tracking of blood pressure readings and blood glucose levels. If you are going to have a telehealth appointment with your provider and have one of these conditions, they may recommend that you order an automatic blood pressure cuff to track blood pressure readings and a glucometer to track blood glucose levels, if the patient doesn’t have these at home already.
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What Routine Appointments Should I Reschedule?
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If you do not have emergent health concerns, are not taking regular medication and are a generally healthy person, it is okay to postpone physical exams with your health care provider. Routine screenings such as mammograms, colonoscopies and pap smears can be rescheduled unless there is a new symptom or red flag (such as a lump in the breast). The same goes with non-urgent dental visits and cleanings, limiting dental visits to emergency only (Birch, 2020).
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What Precautions Should I Take?
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If you need to seek medical care, make sure to call your doctor’s office first. The medical office will direct you on what process to take in order to enter the office or hospital and any supplies that you may need. Other general precautions include:
| • | Wear a face covering |
| • | Wash your hands frequently |
| • | Stay 6 feet away from the nearest person |
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Medical care facilities are being sanitized regularly and are prepared to care for those in need. With that said, don’t delay medical care due to the concern of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are many actions you can take to protect your health without leaving your home. Be prepared, call ahead and have the needed supplies before venturing out. It could save your life.
The Jackson College Health Clinic is available for telehealth appointments. You can call the health clinic at 517.990.1374 and leave a message to make an appointment; voicemails will be responded to within 48 hours. Other points of contact include e-mailing the health clinic (JCCHealthClinic@jccmi.edu) or if you have a MyChart, you can contact Rachel Nichols, nurse practitioner, this way as well. Don’t delay your health care needs!
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