The fast-paced nature of a blossoming school year can leave even the healthiest and most well adjusted individuals in a fog.
Sharon Manakas, coordinator of student health services at the Moorpark Student Health Center, wants students to be aware of the wide array of services offered, services which strive to provide all students with the necessary resources to keep up their health.
Services featured at the health center include: assessment and treatment for acute illnesses, first aid, psychological counseling, immunizations, physicals, family planning (pap smears and birth control), STI testing, HIV testing and over-the-counter medications.
Most of the services available are free with the exception of a nominal charge for lab work and medication, with all services at the health center being confidential.
The health center has teamed up with the Associated Students, Moorpark College’s student governing body, to host a free fitness fair on Tuesday, Sept. 14, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The event will take place in the Moorpark College quad. Holly Bracken, health intervention specialist, has invited local gyms, and yoga studios to share with students the various methods of exercising.
The fitness fair will have free giveaways, various fitness activities and nutrition information. Kinesiology students will conduct body-fat measurements and nutritionists will be posted at booths to inform students about healthy eating habits.
In the spring semester of 2010, Moorpark College conducted a student survey through the National College Health Assessment. The survey results indicated that more than 90 percent of students do not eat enough fruits and vegetables.
In addition, the survey suggests that students are not getting enough exercise.
MC students did not reach the 2010 goal for physical fitness.
“We just want students to be aware of the different methods of getting exercise and getting active,” said Bracken. “So that they don’t just have to go to a gym and run on a treadmill, they can go on a hike.”
Ventura County is currently confronting a Pertussis (whooping-cough) epidemic. Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease that people of all ages can contract, according to helppreventwhoopingcough.com.
Students are strongly advised to receive an immunization for Pertussis if they haven’t already done so, which is available at the health center for $35 dollars.
“Prevention is key in tackling this illness,” Manakas said in an e-mail.
The flu vaccine will also be available for at the health center sometime this month, which will cost $20 dollars.
Cholesterol testing will be made available to all students on Tuesday, Sept. 14 and again on Tuesday, Oct. 26, from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. If you interested in cholesterol testing be sure to sign up in advance at the health center.
The Moorpark Health Center understands that students do not have unlimited access to financial resources, so they implore students to stop by to get the care they need.
