USC announces health initiative

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University of South Carolina officials launched a campus-wide initiative Tuesday (Feb. 28) to improve the health and well-being of USC students, faculty and staff.

The initiative, called “Healthy Carolina,” will be spearheaded by USC’s Division of Student Affairs. Healthy Carolina is expected to have significant, long-term benefits for the Carolina community and to position the University as a national leader in campus health promotion.

Once again the University of South Carolina is a pioneer in introducing a cutting-edge, state-of-the- art program that has tremendous potential to advance the quality of life for our students, faculty and staff -- in fact, for our entire Carolina community and ultimately, for the citizens of our state and world,” said USC President Andrew Sorensen.

Healthy Carolina will promote healthy behaviors to enhance student learning; improve the recruitment, retention and productivity of faculty and staff; and be a catalyst for health research.
Specifically, Healthy Carolina will:

• identify the health needs of USC students, faculty and staff;
• guide the development and promotion of new programs, services and policies that directly address those identified needs; and
• uncover opportunities for collaborative, health-related research.
  

Healthy students earn higher grades, miss fewer classes and are more involved in campus activities. Improving students’ health can help them get the most out of their college experiences and benefit them in the years after graduation, said Dr. Dennis Pruitt, vice president for student affairs.

“Thanks to the remarkable efforts of an insightful team at the University,” said Pruitt, “we will be teaching students and other members of our community concepts that will enhance both their educational experience and life management skills during their college years, and will benefit them for years to come. These competencies are the hallmark of a USC experience that our graduates take to their communities and places of business when they graduate.”

Another goal of Healthy Carolina is to improve the health of USC faculty and staff, a key to increasing productivity, improving morale and retaining excellent employees.

An inventory of USC health-related research activity will uncover opportunities for research collaboration between faculty and staff in academic units and other University offices. Much of this research will be directed at health concerns of particular importance to the people of South Carolina.

Healthy Carolina’s approach to many health issues from an ecological perspective will complement USC’s commitment to sustainable design and construction of green buildings like Green Quad, and to Innovista’s livability concept.

The initiative will seek collaboration from offices and academic units across campus, particularly the Arnold School of Public Health, said Pruitt.

“It is the intention of the designers of Healthy Carolina,” said Pruitt, “to embrace collaboratively the expertise and commitment of other University offices and state agencies, USC’s vast research enterprises, the will of our many talented faculty members and the national foundations dedicated to improving the health of our citizens to deliver a model program that develops the best practices in the field, new knowledge to advance the concept of health and wellness in South Carolina and the introduction of new health practices by our citizens.”

Healthy Carolina will be guided by two national health-promotion documents, “Healthy People 2010,” by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and the American College Health Association’s “Healthy Campus 2010.” These publications identify major U.S. health concerns and outline objectives to improve the health of the country’s citizens.

Healthy Carolina will tailor its objectives to the USC campus by conducting an assessment of the health needs of USC students, faculty and staff, and by taking an inventory of the University’s current health-related programs, services and policies.

Based on this information, Healthy Carolina will guide the development and promotion of programs, services and policies that enhance USC’s already outstanding health offerings, said Michelle Burcin, director for Healthy Carolina.

“USC is already doing an amazing job when it comes to wellness, ranging from the first-class Strom Thurmond Wellness & Fitness Center and the nationally recognized violence prevention program to the innovative research conducted by USC’s acclaimed faculty,” said Burcin. “We would like to see Healthy Carolina be the initiative that keeps health on the tips of everyone’s tongues, the initiative that gets the campus focused on the health and well-being of our students, faculty and staff.”

For more information on Healthy Carolina, call Burcin at 803-777-4752, or visit the Web site http://www.sc.edu/healthycarolina.

Healthy Carolina fact sheet

• Healthy Carolina is a campus-wide initiative to improve the health and well-being of USC students, faculty and staff by identifying the health needs of the Carolina community and guiding the development and promotion of programs, services, research and policies that complement USC’s outstanding health-related offerings.
  
  
• Healthy Carolina will collaborate with the American College Health Association to administer the National College Health Assessment to identify the health needs of USC students. Healthy Carolina will conduct a similar survey of faculty and staff.
  
  
• Healthy Carolina will appoint a task force comprising representatives from all University offices, academic units and the student body.
  
• Healthy Carolina will identify opportunities for and encourage collaborative, health-related research of national scope and specific to the citizens of South Carolina.

South Carolina health facts

• South Carolina is one of the least healthy states in the United States, ranking 46th in the country.
• South Carolina has the second highest rate of stroke deaths in the U.S.
• In South Carolina, 40 percent of African-Americans and 20 percent of Caucasians will die from hypertension-related disease.
• Diabetes affects more than 600,000 South Carolinians, many of whom are undiagnosed.
• Each year, physical inactivity costs South Carolina an estimated $4.7 billion in medical care, workers’ compensation and lost productivity.
• 60.3 percent of adults in South Carolina are overweight or obese.
• Smoking causes more than $1 billion in productivity loss in South Carolina each year.

Top 10 reported health impediments to students’ academic performance

1. stress
2. cold/flu/sore throat
3. sleep difficulties
4. concern for troubled friend or family member
5. relationship difficulty
6. depression/anxiety disorder/SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)
7. Internet use/computer games
8. death of a friend or family member
9. sinus infection/ear infection/ bronchitis/strep throat
10. alcohol use

Health-related programs and services
USC Division of Student Affairs

Thomson Student Health Center
- physician appointments (general medicine clinic,
women’s care clinic, eye clinic)
- pharmacy
- travel clinic

Counseling & Human Development Center
- counseling sessions
- 15 support groups & workshops

Office for Sexual Health & Violence Prevention
- 24-hour crisis assistance
- Safe Zone Ally Initiative
- sexual health workshops

Campus Wellness
- smoking cessation classes
- Lighten Up! weight management seminar

Alcohol & Drug Programs
- Late Night Carolina events
- workshops and presentations to classes

Campus Recreation
- Blatt P.E. Center
- Strom Thurmond Wellness & Fitness Center
- 56 group exercise classes per week
- 22 club sports

Carolina Productions
- cultural awareness events
- Homecoming events

Community Service Programs
- Service Saturdays
- America Reads Program
- service learning opportunities

Greek Life
- Dance Marathon
- Carolina/Clemson Blood Drive

Leadership Programs
- Emerging Leaders Program
- Student Leadership Training Conference

Multicultural Student Affairs
- Minority Assistant Peer (M.A.P.) Team
- counseling and support for minority students
- Diversity Dialogues

Women’s Student Services
- Women’s Mentor Network
- women’s group, “For Those 25 & Older”

Career Center
- workshops
- mock interviews
- job shadowing opportunities

Financial Aid & Scholarships
- financial aid application assistance
- scholarship opportunities

International Programs for Students
- Study Abroad Program
- University orientation for international students

University Housing
- Living and Learning Communities
- Academic Centers of Excellence (ACE)
- Out to Lunch Program

Office of Student Disability Services
- test proctoring services
- note taking services

Office of Student Judicial Programs
- Carolinian Creed Week
- Carolina Student Judicial Council

What Carolina’s leaders are saying about Healthy Carolina...

• "Once again the University of South Carolina is a pioneer in introducing a cutting-edge, state-of-the-art program that has tremendous potential to advance the quality of life for our students, faculty and staff-- in fact, for our entire Carolina community and ultimately, for the citizens of our state and world,”
  -- USC President Andrew Sorensen
  
  
• “The University of South Carolina has strong education and research programs in the health sciences. Healthy Carolina demonstrates our commitment to taking that education and knowledge generation and putting it to work for the benefit of all who work and study at the University. I am delighted that through this important effort we will make a positive difference for the lives and well-being of members of the Carolina family.”
  -- Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Mark Becker
  
  
• “Thanks to the remarkable efforts of an insightful team at the University, we will be teaching students and others members of our community concepts that will enhance both their educational experience and life management skills during their college years, and will benefit them for years to come. These competencies are the hallmark of a USC experience that our graduates take to their communities and places of business when they graduate.”
  
  “It is the intention of the designers of Healthy Carolina to embrace collaboratively the expertise and commitment of other University offices and state agencies, our vast research enterprises, the will of our many talented faculty members and the national foundations dedicated to improving the health of our citizens, to deliver a model program that develops the best practices in the field, new knowledge to advance the concept of health and wellness in South Carolina, and the introduction of new health practices by our citizens.”
  -- Vice President for Student Affairs Dennis Pruitt
  
  
• “The Healthy Carolina initiative will serve as a catalyst for health promotion research across disciplines while providing the first comprehensive view of the many wellness-promoting opportunities that students, faculty and staff have at USC. I believe our university’s commitment to this initiative will create another distinctive recruiting advantage for the best faculty and students in the country and, through wellness program research and development, continue the University’s leadership role in addressing the health issues of our state’s citizens.”
  -- Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Gene Luna
  
  
• “USC is already doing an amazing job when it comes to wellness, ranging from the first-class Strom Thurmond Wellness & Fitness Center and the nationally recognized violence prevention program to the innovative research conducted by USC’s acclaimed faculty. We would like to see Healthy Carolina be the initiative that keeps health on the tips of everyone’s tongues, the initiative that gets the campus focused on the health and well-being of our students, faculty and staff.”
  -- Director for Healthy Carolina Michelle Burcin
  
  
• “The Healthy Carolina initiative will complement the sustainability initiatives announced by President Sorensen following the opening of Green Quad. Sustainability of the campus environment, in many aspects, is closely related to the the health and well-being of the faculty, staff and students at USC. Developing a comprehensive approach to health promotion on campus will be another point of distinction for Carolina.”
  -- Dean of the School of the Environment Bruce Coull
  
  
• “As an advocate for students, I am very excited about and supportive of the Healthy Carolina initiative. This program can and will help students find a healthier lifestyle....I am glad that our university is coming together to address the health concerns of our students, faculty, and staff. So often in our busy world, we forget how imperative it is to take care of ourselves, both physically and mentally. I truly believe that through this program, we will be able to make our campus a healthier place. “
  -- Student Body President Tommy Preston

Burcin named Healthy Carolina director
Michelle Murphy Burcin has been named director of Healthy Carolina at the University of South Carolina. Her appointment began December 19, 2005.

In her position, Burcin will lead Healthy Carolina, a campus-wide initiative to encourage students, faculty and staff to make healthful lifestyle choices. Healthy Carolina will identify health-related programs and services currently offered at USC and will stimulate new, complementary programs and services to further improve the USC community’s well-being. The initiative also will examine current health-related research projects and uncover additional research opportunities for faculty and students.

Gene Luna, director of University Housing and Student Development, said Burcin “is the right person at the right time to lead the Healthy Carolina initiative. Her background in health promotion for faculty, staff, and students will complement her strong relationships across campus as she helps position the University of South Carolina as one of the nation’s best and most healthy universities at which to live, learn, work and play.”

Burcin comes to USC from Sisters of Charity Providence Hospitals, where she developed an employee wellness program, heart-health programs for the community and a statewide women’s heart-health campaign. Prior to joining Providence Hospitals, she was a program director for USC’s Health and Wellness Programs, where she planned and implemented health and health-education programs for students, faculty and staff.

Burcin earned a master’s degree in public health from USC’s Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health, and expects to earn her Ph.D., also from the School of Public Health, in May 2006.