Los Rios’ Health Center now offering one-on-one services for physical and mental health
Students and faculty are dealing with stress both mentally and physically and need help coping during these uncertain times.
With 2020 being one of the most stressful years staff and students at ARC have had to deal with, there are ways to get support in dealing with stress in these uncertain times. (Photo Illustration by Brandon Zamora)
The Los Rios Community College District’s administration realized how the pandemic and the recent election have impacted both students and faculty at American River College, and, as a result, has taken measures by offering different benefits and resources to help students and faculty during these overwhelming times.
With all of this tension and uncertainty surrounding students and faculty’s daily lives, it can be hard to find a way to help and cope with all of these mental issues. ARC and the LRCCD offer aid for students and faculty to help manage their stress levels. It also offers physical health advice to those who may need it with services they can use from the Health and Wellness Center and the Employee Assistance Program.
According to Pamela Whipple, a college nurse at ARC, students can get help by contacting the Health and Wellness Center on its website or by making an account with Patient Portal, where students can set up appointments with college nurses.
“If a student simply doesn’t know where to start, we encourage them to make an appointment through our Patient Portal with an ARC college nurse to provide some guidance,” Whipple said. “Starting your journey to feeling better is just a phone call, text or website away.”
According to Whipple, students who currently don’t have health insurance can still get these benefits from the Health and Wellness Center. Nurses are able to help students apply for health insurance by showing them steps on how to apply.
“ARC’s nurses can also help connect students to health insurance navigation services if they are not currently insured,” Whipple said.
This service is only available to students within the LRCCD, so any student currently enrolled can contact the Health and Wellness Center for no additional fees during the semester as it’s covered by the students enrollment fee for the semester. The Health and Wellness Center helps students in a number of ways from dealing with emotional and physical problems and giving advice to any issues financially, educationally, socially, physically, etc.
LRCCD employees who are dealing with stress can contact the Employee Assistance Program. According to Nicole Keller, employee benefits supervisor for the Los Rios school district, the EAP is a program free to use for all Los Rios employees who need any type of aid or advice as well such as confidential counseling and other benefits to help them in their everyday lives.
“The Employee Assistance Program provides a variety of free and confidential resources, including counseling, childcare and eldercare assistance, financial services, legal services, identity theft recovery services, and daily living services,” Keller said. “In terms of counseling services, the EAP can connect people with or refer them to professionals specializing in traumatic events.”
